


Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

by TinyDancer365



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-09
Updated: 2012-06-07
Packaged: 2017-11-05 02:12:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/401316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyDancer365/pseuds/TinyDancer365
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damon has fun messing around in other people's dreams, but what happens when an old friend drops in and turns the tables on him? Damon/OC Rated M for future lemons and smut.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Miss Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This is TinyDancer365 from fanfiction.net. A lot of people have told me to put my work up on here, so I am trying that.

Damon Salvatore tossed and turned in his bed, fighting insomnia. Whatever he did, his body just couldnt relax. He shouldn't even have to sleep! He's a vampire for Christ's sake! Damon gave a huff of annoyance and crawled out of bed to go downstairs and pour himself some bourbon. Yeah, that should relax him. He was suddenly thrown against his bedroom wall and his wrists were pinned on either side of his head. The vampire struggled against his attacker, but he just wasn't strong enough. Damon stilled, trying to get a look at the intruder but their face was bathed in the dark shadows that loomed in his room. He could tell that his attacker was female simply because of the small but deadly grip on his wrists. He could also make out her long brown curls and her full pouty lips, but he couldn't see the rest of her face since it was clouded by the darkness of his room. If he was to take a wild guess, he thought it was Katherine

"Hello, Damon." Her sultry purring sent shivers up his spine. It wasn't Katherine, that he was sure about. This mystery woman's voice was sweeter than Katherine's. Damon knew this woman but he couldn't quite put his finger on her identity. She gave a little giggle at the vampire's frustration and she let her lips gently brush against his. That simple motion set Damon's body on fire. She pulled back slightly and kissed his jawbone down to his neck, nipping gently at the skin. Her grip on his wrists relaxed and her hands fell to his broad shoulders. Damon's hands circled her waist pulling her flush against his rock hard body and both gasped in surprised but reveled in the feeling of their bodies being so tightly packed together. When she finished teasing his neck with those skilled lips of hers, she moved further down past his collar bone and to his pecks, placing gentle kisses along the way. Damon was in absolute awe. Who was this woman? He wanted to kiss her 'til she had no breath left, but he let her continue her attack on his body. Her hands dipped down from his shoulders and lightly skimmed his chest, running over every muscle. Her lips went back to their teasing on his pale skin, gently suckling on his chest. Damon groaned at the amount of pleasure she was giving him. She smirked against his skin before dropping down to her knees. The tip of her nose nuzzled against the growing buldge in his boxers and Damon let out a long sigh.

Her teeth gripped the waistband of his boxers but she let go, letting the elastic slap against his skin. He growled, getting a little impatient, but he didn't want her to stop her teasing. With women, he would normally be the one to tease. However, he did enjoy that this woman turned the tables on him. Her lips began teasing the skin on his left hip and then moving agonizingly slow to the right. Damon's hands entangled in her hair to let her know he greatly appreciated her movements against him. As if his moans hadn't given that fact away already. She lingered over his right hip - her blunt teeth gently bit down on the bone and Damon's hands gently tugged on her hair. He groaned and threw his head back against the wall, not caring if Stefan heard him. Besides, how many times did he hear him and Elena going at it like rabbits?

Without warning, she bit down on his right hip hard, her teeth piercing his skin. Damon jumped and moaned, clearly surprised by her actions. He felt his blood being sucked out of his body. Vampire! His mind screamed to push her away, but he was in such a haze of pleasure to stop this young woman's hold on him. He could hear her soft moans as she suckled his blood and nuzzled her warm cheek against his skin. She pulled away, extracting her fangs and he saw his blood drip down and off her chin. Her tongue darted out, licking her lips suggestively in an effort to clean his blood off her lips and fangs. She leaned in closely again, much like how the ordeal started and she whispered menacingly in his ear.

"Time to wake up."

He shot out of bed in a cold sweat. His body was trembling and his breathing was erratic. A dream. It was all just a dream, he kept repeating to himself trying to calm down.

"Have a good dream?" That voice, the exact same one from his dream. His eyes darted around the room and caught a woman sitting on the edge of his desk. Her legs crossed leaning back on one hand. She was just as beautiful as she was in his dream. Seeing her in the light of the sun he was finally able to tell who she was. She was his best friend. She was the one before Katherine.

"Cassandra?" He whispered.

"Hello, Damon. Miss me?"


	2. House Fire

Within seconds, she was pinned against the wall, but she was faster. She hooked her leg behind his and slammed him to the floor, sitting on top of his chest. Both of them hissed at each other barring their fangs. Damon rolled them over so he was on top but, once again the female vampire shot him against the wall, holding him there. In one last attempt, Damon pushed her against the wall again. This time she didn't make a move against him. He crushed his body against hers and she smirked at him feeling his arousal.

"Well good morning to you too."

He released his grip on her but didn't leave her. He picked her up in his arms and squeezed her tight. She returned his embrace with the same enthusiasm. "How the hell are you? When did you get in?"

"One: Pretty good and two: this morning."

"It's good to see you! It's been a hundred some odd years now?" Damon said not sure of the last time he saw her.

"You know I don't keep count for those kinds of things. It depresses me. But it is good to see you after all this time."

"Now, I don't mind that you came to see me, but did you have to get inside my head? Such a naughty little girl."

"Did you like your dream?" She laughed.

"As a matter of fact I did. Wanna continue it in real time?" He flirted with her.

"Hmm you'd like that wouldn't you?" She challenged standing on her tippy toes and just brushing his mouth with hers. But like his dream she pulled away abruptly leaving him standing there with his mouth ajar.

"So what are you doing back here?" He asked.

"Ah, that seems to be the question of the day!" She rifled through some papers on his desk absentmindedly.

"Do I get an answer?" He pressed.

"Of course. Stefan called me and said he needed back up. He said he'd fill me in when I got here."

Seeming satisfied with her answer, Damon moved to the next topic of conversation. "Where are you staying?"

"Some place not too far from here."

"Well I would love to see it." He smirked.

"Who said you're being invited in?" She countered.

"C'mon, we could have a little house warming party. I'll bring the booze. Besides, I need to fill you in on stuff going on here."

"Sounds good. Meet you there." She said slipping him a piece of paper with an address and left. Damon took no time getting dressed and, before leaving, he was sure to grab a bottle of red wine.

* * *

He pulled up the house; it was magnificent. It reminded him of what her house looked like back in 1864. He rang the door bell and Cassandra answered with a smile on her face.

"Come in, Damon." He stepped through the once impenetrable barrier and followed her to the kitchen. "Well, Mr. Salvatore, shall I give you a formal tour of my humble abode?" She took the bottle of wine and set it on the island.

"Hmm, is your bedroom a stop on this tour?" He gave her a wolfish grin.

"Only if you're a good boy." Back in 1864 they would be beaten if they ever spoke like this to each other but teasing was their way of getting along. She showed him the entire house and moved to her room, pushing the door open. Damon looked around the room finding everything neatly in place.

"I think I could get used to spending time in here."

"Huh, that's what you think." She huffed. "I can still revoke my invitation you know!"

"No, you wouldn't do that." He said moving to her lingerie drawer pulling out a lacy bra that left very little to the imagination. "Ooh, I would love to see how this looks on you." He whistled.

"In your dreams, Salvatore."

"Or in yours." He shot back. He continued to raid her drawer and she didn't stop him. Telling him to stop would be like telling a child not to touch a hot stove; they would do it anyway. "So where are the whips and chains? I bet you're kinky like that." She rolled her eyes and finally closed the drawer on his fingers.

"I think you've have enough fun for one day."

"Oh, I am always ready for more." He winked. She led him back downstairs to the kitchen and uncorked the bottle of wine; pouring it into two glasses perched on the island. They moved to the living room, sitting across from each other.

"Nice place you got here."

"Thanks." She smiled, "Now fill me in, kid."

"Alright, to make it simple, Katherine is out of the tomb and in Mystic Falls." Cassandra stiffened in mid drink hearing the vampires' name. She remembered Stefan telling her when they opened the tomb, she wasn't there.

"Oh, lovely." She muttered under her breath but Damon caught it.

"There's more. Stefan is going out with Elena and she is Katherine's doppelganger. Currently, we are looking for a moonstone that will-"

"Break the sun and moon curse." She finished for him.

"How did you know about that?" He was utterly shocked.

"I've heard about it. I always thought it was a legend. I guess it's real."

"Yep, it's real alright. Somehow all of these things come together." Damon explained to her pretty much everything that had gone on in Mystic Falls between the vampires, werewolves and witches; it was pretty hectic. After business they reminisced about old times and about how bad they wished they could go back. Damon's phone rang obnoxiously and he read the text.

"Ugh, I gotta jet. Stefan needs me. You should come. I'm sure Stefan wants to see you." She tossed the idea around but she needed to get her house in order before she went to see anyone.

"Mehh, maybe another time, Damon. My house is in a shambles."

"Well how about me and you go out later tonight? I can introduce you to everyone."

"Sure, I'll meet you at the boarding house at 8."

"It's a date then." He winked at her but she rolled her eyes.

After Damon left, she drained the two glasses of wine and went to work on straightening out the house. She wasn't at it long when the door bell rang. Opening it she saw two moving men with a piano. She was not leaving her piano in her old house she didn't care how old it was.

"Where do you want the piano Miss?" She opened the door wider.

"Come in, you can put it down in the living room." She showed them to the lounge watching them handle her baby with absolute care. As soon as Cassandra turned her back she was hit with a sting in her neck. Vervain. Shit! She had invited vampires into her house. She felt her body shutting down but before that, she saw her intruders approaching her.

Cassandra groaned, still feeling the vervain coursing through her veins. She tried to move her arms and legs but they were bound with vervain soaked rope. The men stood above her; one talking on a cell phone in hushed tones, the other watching her come to. There wasn't much she could do about it; the vervain in her system was making it so painful to move. The one on the cell phone ended his conversation and grabbed a jug of gasoline. He started pouring it all over the floor and made his way up the stairs; continuing throughout the house. They were going to burn the house down with her in it! The other man followed him. Now she was alone in the basement. Cassandra smelt the recognizable scent of burning coming from upstairs. The smoke was clouding her eyes as she saw the flames making their way down the stairs.

* * *

Damon sat on the couch back at the boarding house, looking at the clock. It was 8 o'clock. Where was she? He dialed her cell phone but it went straight to voice mail. Could it be she had forgotten? He left the boarding house and headed over to see what was taking her so long.

He pulled up to the house seeing it in flames. He leapt out of the car and ran through the front door. He yelled for her, making his way through the burning maze but heard no response.

Cassandra coughed trying to get the smoke out of her lungs. She faintly heard someone walking above her. She listened closer and heard it was Damon.

"Damon! Damon!" She screamed, but it came out much softer than she anticipated. She kept screaming, hoping that he would hear her.

* * *

Damon came down from the second floor and was rounding the first floor again. He stopped, hearing something like strangled screams. He followed the sound to a closed door and started banging on it.

"Cassandra! Cassandra, are you in here?"

"Yes! Damon, please help me!" It hurt so much to scream back to him but right now he was her only hope. Damon kicked the door to the basement in and moved right to her bound body; blurring past the stairs engulfed by the flames. He took his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shaking form. He scooped her up and looked for a possible escape but found none. He had to go back through the blazing maze on the first floor. Cassandra was now unconscious against Damon's shoulder. Liz and the fire department showed up due to one of the neighbors calling in about the blaze.

"Damon, is she alright?" Liz asked worriedly seeing the unconscious girl in his arms.

"Yes sheriff, she's fine, she just passed out from the shock. She was supposed to meet me earlier tonight. When she didn't show up I drove by the house and saw it in flames."

"Damon, you could have died going in there!" Sure, Liz was pointing out the obvious but fire was even more dangerous for him as a vampire.

"I know, but I couldn't wait for the fire department to come." Liz gave him a knowing nod and left. He eased his friend's body into the passenger seat of his car and headed back to the boarding house, but not before calling Stefan to let him know what went down. Stefan and Elena had arrived at the mansion soon after Damon left.

* * *

Damon laid Cassandra on one of the couches and Stefan got her a blood bag. "Who is she?" Elena asked.

"Cassandra Emerson. And yes, she is a vampire. She was a friend of ours back in the day." Damon explained, taking the blood bag from Stefan and trying to sit his friend up on the couch. Cassandra groaned in protest, trying to open her eyes.

"Damon?" Her voice came out low.

"Hey, you. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." She answered back snatching the blood bag from Damon and drinking hungrily.

"How much vervain did they give you?" Stefan asked, after her taking a couple of gulps and swallowing.

"Not a lot. The batch they made was really concentrated, so it's extra deadly in small doses. Whoever made it knew what they were doing." She said, nearly finishing the bag.

"Do you have any idea who attacked you?" Stefan asked.

"Nope. No clue." She answered nearly done with her first blood bad and taking a second from Stefan.

"Well, we are all happy to have you here." Damon said with his sense of humor that she knew so well. "Now for the introductions; Cassandra, Elena a.k.a Katherine look-a-like. Elena, Cassandra." Damon said introducing the two women.

"Nice to meet you, Elena. I wish it was under better circumstances." Cassandra said raising a shaky hand.

Elena grasped it quickly, "Nice to meet you too."

"My God, you really look like her." Cassandra whispered more to herself than anyone else. Snapping out of her trance "I'm sorry. I'm sure you hear that all the time."

"No, it's alright." Elena said with her normal disposition.

"Well what is the condition of my house? Dare I ask?" She asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Burned to the ground, sweetheart." Damon answered for her.

"Lovely." She muttered, rubbing her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"You are more than welcome to stay here, Cassandra." Stefan said.

"Alright, it's settled then you're moving in here." Damon said closing the subject for discussion.

"Wait, what?" She asked, lifting up her head.

"C'mon, it will be like old times." Damon smirked at her.

"Look, are you sure about this?" She asked.

"Ah Cassandra, ever the polite one." Damon winked. "Let's go find you a room. Can you get up?"

"Yeah, just gimme a second." She said before launching herself off the couch. She stumbled but was able to get her footing.

"My lady." Damon said holding his arm out for her to take.

"Good sir." She said, taking it and they made their way up the stairs. To Elena their jargon and actions looked absolutely ridiculous but to Stefan it was a reminder of the past.

"She was the one before Katherine." Stefan explained.

Elena's eyes widened, "There was one before Katherine?"

"Yep. He was smitten with her."

Elena's lips twisted into a smile hearing about Damon's past love, "That is adorable."

* * *

"Ladies first." He said opening the door and ushering her in. Cassandra took her time looking around her old room. She had stayed at the boarding house whenever her parents had to leave on business. Giuseppe, Damon and Stefan had treated her like family and that was something she never forgot. She ran her fingers over the dresser looking into the dusty mirror.

"It's just like I remember. It needs some work, but it will do." She said with a smile.

Cassandra flopped down on the bed and Damon blurred beside her.

"So, you here to stay this time?" He missed not having her around to keep him in check, and with everything going wrong in this town it was comforting to see her.

"If people stop trying to kill me, then yes." They smiled at each other. Cassandra leapt off the bed as if remembering something.

Then she started rummaging around the room, looking for something. She checked dresser drawers and in every nook and cranny, then she moved to look under the bed. Damon just lounged on the bed the entire time, watching her movements with utter confusion.

"There are no monsters under there if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh shut up!" She shouted, her head still under the bed. She gasped and pulled back taking a box with her. She took it with her to the dresser and dropped the box down, a puff of dust clouding the air.

"What's that?" He asked, now appearing next to her.

"Just a little something of mine I left here. I can't believe its still here." She opened the lid rifling through its contents until her eyes rested on what she was looking for. She picked up a copy of 'Gone with the Wind' and handed it to Damon.

"Here you go. I know it's a hundred and some odd years too late but, better late than never." He took the book and examined it, trying to reach back in his memory.

"Remember? That day at the lake."

_Cassandra sat quietly by the lake, reading one of the books she had borrowed from the Salvatore's library. Naturally, it was not right for a woman to know how to read, but her parents had brought her up different than that. In fact, she quite liked that she could talk with Damon about the books he'd read. He would even tell her his favorite books. Damon had raved about 'Gone with the Wind' so he insisted she borrow the book. She was so entranced in the words her eyes were reading over that she wasn't aware of someone sneaking up behind her. A loud yell had frightened her so much that she fell forward into the lake. She swam to the surface and saw Damon hooting with laughter on the shore._

_"Damon! Why did you do that? How am I going to explain this wet dress to father?" she yelled, spitting water from her mouth. Damon still couldn't control his laughter, but managed to get out something about how she was always very easy to scare. Cassandra wanted to balance the situation so she reached her hands up innocently for Damon to grab. "Please help me out! The water's cold!" She pleaded. Damon, always the gentleman, grasped her hands to pull her out, but Cassandra pulled her body weight back down into the water, taking Damon with her. He splashed into the water and resurfaced quickly. "Now I'd say we are even. Aren't we Damon?" she laughed, but he hardly was ready for her to have the last laugh so he smacked some water in her direction. She did the same back to him and before they knew it, they were running through the water and chasing each other._

_Damon grabbed her from behind and whispered "Gotcha!" in her ear. She turned in his arms to face him, knowing she lost._

_Both of their laughing quieted and they realized they were still holding each other. Her brown eyes were sparkling and her now wet brown locks hung around her shoulders. He had looked even more handsome soaking wet, with his black locks matted to his face. Damon placed his hand at the base of her neck, pulling her to him, and their lips met in a soft kiss. She slowly pulled away,but she pushed her lips back to his again in a more passionate kiss. Her arms moved around his neck and his went to her waist to pull each other closer as the kiss deepened. Cassandra's fingers started to play with the wet hair at the back of his neck. Damon's tongue swept across her bottom lip and she let him in to taste her. Their tongues fought for dominance as both teenagers moaned into each other's mouths. Damon's hands started to move up her lower back feeling over the strings of her corset._

_"Damon?" A voice made them both freeze. Cassandra looked over Damon's shoulder and saw Stefan standing at the bank of the lake, a smug smile on his face. A deep blush crept up into her cheeks, embarrassed that Stefan had caught them. "It's about time, brother!" Stefan called. Damon whipped around hearing his brother's voice. Both brothers laughed and Stefan moved to hoist Damon out of the water. Damon in turn did this same for Cassandra. Something caught her eye and she saw Damon's book in the mud._

_"Oh Damon, I'm so sorry! I knew this book was your favorite." She felt very guilty she had promised herself that she would take extra care of Damon's book while she borrowed it._

_"It's alright. There are many other books in the world. But there's only one of you." He flashed a genuine smile. The trio was walking back towards the Salvatore mansion when Giuseppe saw Damon and Cassandra soaked._

_"Damon! What happened here?" he shouted angrily. Damon was at a loss for words; he couldn't exactly tell him the truth. "Well you see, father, I-"_

_"Mister Salvatore, it was my fault!" Cassandra blurted out without thinking. Damon froze and Giuseppe waited for her to continue._

_"I was feeding the ducks with Damon down by the lake this afternoon, and I'm afraid I leaned in too far and I fell in. I can't swim, sir, so Damon jumped in and saved me." Damon and Stefan stood with bated breath behind Cassandra. How could their father believe a story like that? Giuseppe's face softened and turned to Damon._

_"My son, you are a natural born hero! Had you not been around the poor girl would have drowned! Come Damon, please show Miss Emerson to a room and have her dry off before she returns home." He left the group and both brothers exhaled, ecstatic that their father bought that little white lie. Damon took Cassandra inside to a room down the hall from his. He locked the door behind the both of them. Cassandra was shocked by his actions._

_"Mister Salvatore, I am not undressing in front of you." She teased._

_"Why did you do that? Lie for me, I mean. It was my fault you're all wet in the first place." He wasn't angry with her, he could never be angry with her. Just not many people stood up for him. He is the oldest son, so it is expected that he should be able to stand on his own. She was taken aback by his question. Why did she take the fall for him?_

_"Damon, you're my friend and we were just having some fun. Your father goes much too hard on you sometimes. It makes me upset seeing him so angry at you. It's not fair."_

_"It does make me angry, too." He admitted quietly. She walked up to him and threw her arms around him. Damon was at first stunned by her action, but he relaxed and hugged her back._

_"I will always be there for you, Damon. Never forget that." She whispered in his ear._

_"And I, you. I won't forget, I promise." He said. She pulled back from him and gave him a chaste kiss._

_"Now get out, I have to dry off." She laughed. Damon kissed her hand before leaving her to her business. He returned to his room and leaned his body against the door. He ran his fingers over his lips, which were still numb from her kiss._

"Our first kiss." Damon concluded.

"I see you didn't forget that." She said ruffling his hair.

"Well how could I? Stefan did ruin it." She gave him a look as if to say 'Stop ragging on your brother'.

"Shit, I need to go shopping tomorrow. I need clothes." She said with a grudge, pissed at the assholes that set fire to her house.

"I'll go shopping for you." He offered.

"No, Damon. I don't need you to go shopping for me. Lord knows you'll come home with just lingerie!" She said.

"And what's wrong with that?" He did that eye thing.

"Just forget it, Damon. I will go tomorrow."

"Fine." he muttered. "Good night Cassandra."

"Night, Damon." She said smiling at him.


	3. Masquerade

Cassandra awoke early the next morning and she heard Damon and Stefan softly snoring in their rooms. She was in dire need of a new wardrobe so she tiptoed out of the house, making sure to take Damon's keys, considering her car was left at her house – which was now a pile of ashes. After her shopping spree, Cassandra came through the front door of the Salvatore mansion to see a blonde girl shaking on the couch, talking with Stefan. She could tell right off the bat that she was a vampire just by taking a quick whiff.

"Well, someone had a shopping day." Damon said, looking at the many shopping bags around her wrists.

"There's more in the car."

"Yeah,  _my_ car." Damon was sure to emphasize that.

"I compelled someone to drive my car over here, no worries. Besides, your baby is still in one piece and it rides like a dream." She blurred up to her room just to set the bags down; she wanted to know who the blonde was on the couch. Coming downstairs, she heard the blonde say "I saw Katherine today." Uh-oh! That certainly isn't a good sign.

"Where?" Stefan and Cassandra managed to say at the same time. The blonde on the couch turned her attention to the brunette vampire.

"Who is this?" She asked sweetly.

"Hi, I'm Cassandra Emerson. I'm a friend of Damon and Stefan." She said, politely holding out her hand.

"I'm Caroline Forbes." She said just as politely, shaking her hand.

"Forbes? The sheriff's daughter?"

"Yep that's me." Caroline replied.

"So what is this news about Katherine?" She asked again.

"Wait, you know about Katherine?" Caroline asked.

"Unfortunately." Cassandra bit.

"Uh, social hour later. Finish the story, blondie!" Damon cut in.

"Okay well I saw her at the grill and she wanted me to deliver a message."

"What was the message?" Stefan asked warily.

"To tell Damon and Stefan that I want the moonstone or I will rip this town apart until it rains blood. Tonight at the Masquerade Ball." Caroline finished. All four vampires sat in silence. They all knew if Katherine said something, she meant it, and she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted.

"We can't underestimate her. We have to play this smarter than her." Stefan finally broke the silence.

"Can't we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?" Caroline asked. Dumb question.

"No, you never give Katherine what she wants no matter how bad she wants it." Cassandra answered.

"Katherine's not getting dick! I'm gonna go to the masquerade ball and I'm gonna kill her, tonight." Damon convicted.

"You're not gonna kill her." Stefan protested.

"Don't give me that goody-goody crap!" Damon shot back.

"You're not gonna kill her." Stefan said more sure this time.

"Really?" Damon said incredulously.

"Because I am." Stefan finished. Damon smirked at Stefan. Finally, for the first time in a long time, they were on the same page.

"Listen, this is great and all but how the hell are we going to get her alone?" Cassandra asked.

"Alright, let's make this simple. Everyone in our circle is directly involved. You on the other hand will have to sit this one out." Damon said.

"What! No way Damon! I'm just as involved with this as you are!" Without the brothers' knowledge; Cassandra had her own personal score to settle with Katherine.

"Okay, so how about you're a look-out? If something should go wrong, then you act. Stay hidden since Katherine will be able to recognize you. It makes perfect sense." Stefan concluded.

"See Damon, that wasn't that hard." She smirked, "Don't tell anyone I'm here. If word gets out that Katherine knows I'm here, your whole scheme is ruined. And I'll want a chance to stake the bitch, also." Cassandra added before leaving the house and running some last minute errands before getting ready for the ball.

* * *

The female vampire looked herself over in the mirror one last time. She looked flawless in a little black dress, leopard pumps and a black mask adorning her face. Her hair was curled and falling over her shoulders. She descended the stairs to see Damon standing at the bottom in a suit, with a simple mask in his hands. He held his hand out for her to take.

"Well you, my darling, look delicious." He winked at her.

"And you, sir, look devilishly handsome." Damon had to admit it was nice having her back. It was just like old times; happier times, he noted. At the ball, Cassandra and Damon stood on the steps, keeping an eye out for Katherine with no luck.

"So where have you been for the past couple of years? You haven't been back to visit."

"I was taking care of some business in Santa Monica." Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ooh, aren't you the little business woman."

She laughed, "Yeah, well I have to keep myself occupied for a hundred plus years. You're sure no one knows I'm here?"

"Yes, dear." He sounded like a husband responding to his needy wife. "Besides, Bonnie, Alaric, Jeremy, Tyler and Matt don't know who you are anyway."

"Uhm who?"

Damon took a deep breath, wanting to give her the less extended low down on the citizens of Mystic Falls. "Bonnie: witch. Alaric: vampire hunter. Jeremy: Elena's brother. Tyler: werewolf. And Matt is with Caroline, not with Caroline? The teen drama these days is overwhelming."

"Quite an interesting cast of character you got here. A vampire hunter?"

"It's a long story." Damon muttered. Stefan joined them on the steps overlooking the crowd. "Do you see her?" Damon asked his brother.

"Nope. You're sure you can do this?"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated."

"Well that is the fork in the road between you and me, my friend. I don't hesitate."

"If either of you hesitate, I'll be the one to stake the bitch. Hai capito?  _[You understand?]_ "Cassandra cut in.

"Hmm, Italian. Very sexy. Mi piace.  _[I like it.]_ " Damon smirked.

"The two of you can brush up on your Italian later. There she is." Stefan pointed out. The three vampires disbursed without another word.

* * *

Once Katherine was spotted, Damon and Stefan moved into place for their plan. They took refuge in a room upstairs while Caroline was the decoy. Cassandra was to blend in with everyone but keep a close eye on Elena. She wasn't introduced to the rest of the gang, so right now she was their eye in the sky. Things were going relatively well until Elena started screaming. Bonnie saw the back of her shirt stained with blood. Another blood spatter bled through the material on her arm and her screams only got louder.

"It hurts, Bonnie." Elena cried.

"I can't break the spell, Elena, but I can try to take some of the pain away, okay?" Elena nodded and Bonnie started to chant. That Katherine was a sneaky bitch. She had gotten her witch to cast a spell to connect her and Elena. Everything Katherine feels; Elena feels. Her brother, Jeremy approached the pair and Bonnie left to find the other witch. Cassandra blurred in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Hello, Bonnie." Cassandra greeted.

"Who are you?" The witch asked warily.

"I'm a friend of Damon and Stefan. You need to trust me."

"Why should I?" She raised an eyebrow at her.

"Because you need to find a witch and I know where she is." Bonnie looked skeptically at her. She had picked up on the obvious fact that she was a vampire but she wasn't eager to trust her. "Please, Bonnie,I will explain everything. I promise." Bonnie hesitantly nodded and the vampire kept her word; pointing her in the direction of Katherine's witch, Lucy.

* * *

Cassandra left Bonnie and blurred to the room in the Lockwood mansion. She stood outside the barrier making her presence known to all three vampires.

"Hello, Katherine." She smirked, removing her mask.

"You!" Katherine hushed, her face paled as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Yes. Me." Cassandra said, stepping through the invisible barrier. Each step she advanced, Katherine took two steps back. Stefan and Damon exchanged looks of confusion, never seeing Katherine this scared.

"But you died." Katherine stammered.

"No, you killed me, but someone thought I was important enough to keep alive." They all asked themselves the same question, who had turned her? It never came up in conversation so what was the point of asking? Damon was livid that Katherine had killed his best friend and compelled him to think she had gone missing.

"You killed her? Her parents said she went missing!" He hollered.

"I had to, Damon. She was standing in the way of our happiness. And it looks like I will have to kill her again." Katherine lunged at Cassandra and gripped her throat. Cassandra stood, unmoving, clearly not fazed by Katherine. She gripped Katherine by the throat and squeezed hard. Katherine faltered and choked out "Ho-How are you stronger than me? I'm ol-older than you."

Cassandra didn't answer; she just squeezed harder, cutting off Katherine's protests.

"Wait, Elena!" Stefan went to stop this cat fight but Cassandra caught his eye and winked. He took a step back, assuming she had full control of the situation and waited for the next move. Cassandra still hadn't relinquished her grip and Damon and Stefan couldn't help but wonder how Cassandra was so strong. Katherine was definitely older than her by a landslide, so why was Katherine the submissive one?

"Katherine?" A tall woman, Lucy, called from the door. Cassandra released her and Katherine sauntered to the door. "The spell has been broken, you are free to leave." The witch spoke again.

"Thank God!" Katherine scoffed, looking back at her company. Lucy held up the moonstone ready to give it to Katherine, "Once I hand this over to you, my debt is over."

"Fine."

"I owe you nothing."

"I said fine. Give it."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Damon called from the other side of the room. But Lucy dropped the moonstone in Katherine's hand. Katherine started gasping for breath and she collapsed on the floor. "You should have told me there was another witch involved. She was a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that already." Katherine's sputtering finally stopped and she passed out.

"Wait, Elena-"

"Elena is fine. She's with Bonnie; she will heal quickly. I'm sorry for my participation in this." Lucy left without another word. The group made the decision to lock her in the tomb. Damon took Katherine's body and left.

* * *

Cassandra went back to the boarding house and changed into something more comfortable. She sat in the study with a cup of blood when she heard Damon join her.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked quietly.

"Of course. Come sit with me." They sat opposite each other.

"When did you know Katherine was a vampire? Why did she kill you?" Cassandra held her breath, knowing he would ask this, but he had to know. She took a deep breath in preparation.

"It was the night of the founder's ball."

_The founder's ball was the biggest event in Mystic Falls. Damon naturally asked to escort Cassandra and she gladly accepted. His eyes were glued to her the whole night. She looked stunning; her dress complimenting every curve in her body. Damon felt like the luckiest man in the world having her by his side. While they were dancing, he held her close but carefully, as if she would break in his arms if handled too roughly._

_"My lady, would you be so kind as to join me in the gardens?"_

_"I shall, good sir." He offered her arm and she took it gladly. Her and Damon had been closer than ever and neither of them could forget the kiss they shared by the lake. They made each other happy and everyone in town could tell that they were smitten._

_"Are you enjoying the party Miss Emerson?"_

_"Damon, you don't have to be formal with me all the time."_

_"Ah, but that would be rude of me."_

_"You are a gentleman in my eyes. But to answer your question, yes I am having a lovely time. I enjoyed our dance the most. You are a very talented dancer."_

_"Thank you. You are as well." He gestured for her to sit as they came upon a small bench. They both sat down and he took her hands in his. Damon was such a handsome man and the fact that he spent time with her made her heart explode. She shivered due to the fairly chilly weather and he rubbed his hands over hers, trying to warm her up. "Would you like to go back inside?"_

_"No, I like it out here. It's so peaceful."_

_"But you are shivering."_

_"Well, what do you suggest that will make us both happy?" She laughed._

_"How about I warm you up?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Before she got to ask what he meant, he pressed his lips to hers. His hands tangled in her hair, being careful not to wreck it. Their lips moved over each other's effortlessly. Her arms wove around his neck, pulling him closer. His tongue slipped into her mouth, gently massaging hers. She moaned into his mouth, not wanting this to end._

_"Oh, my goodness! I thought I was alone out here!" Katherine's voice rang out in the garden. Damon pulled away from her, slightly upset that they had been interrupted yet again. Katherine stared at the couple and Cassandra blushed._

_"Oh dear, it's alright. I know Damon is very hard to resist." Katherine winked at her. Damon escorted Cassandra back to the ballroom while Katherine remained in the garden. She had intended to keep Stefan for herself but the idea of having both brothers was too tempting. She couldn't imagine that Cassandra was able to catch Damon's eye. She was a beautiful girl but Katherine was sure that she wasn't able to satisfy his needs. Damon was a very handsome man and he practically had women swooning over him. So why, out of all of them, did Cassandra win his heart? She stopped her pondering and decided to act. She would have her way and no one would stop her._

_Cassandra and Damon had danced all night, never letting go of one another. Both were receiving stares from the rest of the guests but they didn't care. They were sharing a glorious evening and no one was going to ruin it for them. Damon had excused himself so Cassandra went to join her parents._

_"You like him, don't you, dear?" her mother asked._

_"Yes. I do." Cassandra was unable to stop the smile tugging at her lips._

_"I can tell by the way you look at him. He loves you too, I can see that as well." She always admired her mother. She was such a strong and wise woman, a woman before her time._

_"I am so happy for you, Cassandra. May you always find happiness in the darkest of places." She hugged her daughter._

_"Thank you, mother." The ball was coming to an end when Cassandra saw Katherine talking with Emily. Damon hadn't returned the entire evening and she was dismayed that he hadn't come back. "Katherine, have you seen Damon?"_

_"Yes, I did. He said he had a headache and wasn't feeling well, so he went home." That was strange; he left without saying goodbye to her. He would never do that. She pushed her confusion aside and bid her parents goodnight since they were leaving for a business opportunity that had opened up for her father. Cassandra knew it was harsh to say but she wished her father would stay here in Mystic Falls. She would be heartbroken if she had to leave, especially when things have been going so well. Giuseppe had been kind enough to give her a room at the boarding house for nothing until her parents came home. Damon and Stefan had helped her move her things in this morning._

_Cassandra returned back to the Salvatore mansion at a late hour. The entire household was asleep. She crept past Damon's bedroom and saw the door cracked open just a little. She slipped through the opening and tiptoed into his room. She was worried that he had left early and wanted to check on him. She leaned over his bed and stroked his handsome face. He stirred under her touch and slowly turned toward her._

_"Hello, Damon. How are you feeling?" She asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting anyone to hear her. Damon just groaned, trying to open his eyes._

_"C-Cassandra?" he called weakly._

_"Yes, I am here. Damon, what is wrong?" She was nervous now. She had never seen him act like this, he seemed almost in pain. His head lolled back to the pillow and Cassandra covered her mouth after seeing his blood staining the white sheets. She looked closer and saw a deep bite mark in his neck. She ran to the door and yelled for help._

_"Mr. Salvatore! Stefan! Please help!" She ran back to Damon and he was battling unconsciousness._

_"Damon, please, I need you to stay awake." She pleaded with him._

_"Vam- Vampire." He whispered before finally closing his eyes. Mr. Salvatore was the first to come in with Stefan in tow. Both men were stunned and the room suddenly got louder. There were shouts for a doctor or some kind of divine help. Stefan ushered a shaking Cassandra from the room, trying to calm her down. Stefan held her sobbing form, assuring her that Damon would be alright. Emily came and moved Cassandra into her room and she continued to sob in the darkness of her room._

"That night I was sure she was a vampire. I had to act fast."

_Damon's words couldn't stop echoing in her head the entire night. Vampire. Vampire. Vampire. How could it be? There was talk around town of the demons, but how could one have gotten so close? The next morning, she went into town and bought some liquid vervain to take back to the mansion with her. Apparently this would repel vampires; she had hoped this was right and not that the shopkeeper was trying to make a sale. When she got back, she noticed that Mr. Salvatore, Damon and Stefan had still been gone. After last night's incident, Damon was rushed to a doctor in town since one could not come to the mansion. Inside, Emily was making tea for herself and Katherine._

_"Good afternoon, Miss Emerson. Would you like to join Miss Pierce for some tea?" She asked politely. An idea popped into Cassandra's head, "Yes, Emily. Thank you." She smiled sweetly._

_"Alright, I will go fetch Miss Pierce. This was the out she was looking for. Cassandra was sure Emily was gone and then she poured the clear liquid into each cup. She heard Katherine and Emily chatting on the steps and she placed the empty vial into her change purse._

_"Good afternoon, Cassandra. How was your outing in town this morning?" Katherine asked._

_"It went very well. Thank you, Katherine." She replied._

_"Have you heard any news about Damon? I am really very worried about him." The sincere words left Katherine's lips but Cassandra saw right through them. She had her suspicions about Katherine when she first came into Mystic Falls, but the events of last night made her surer that Katherine was a vampire. Emily left the room again to make Katherine's bed, leaving the two of them in the kitchen together. Cassandra lifted the cup to her lips and drank quietly. Katherine did the same but when the liquid went down her throat, she started to cough and sputter._

_"You little witch!" she seethed, her fangs now clearly visible. She collapsed to the floor and Cassandra made a run for it. She darted up the stairs and to her room and locked the door behind her, but when she turned around, Katherine was right in front of her. Katherine grabbed the girl by the neck and slammed her against the door, assuring she wouldn't be able to escape. Her true colors showed now. Her eyes were dark as night and the whites of her eyes were blood red. Tiny grey veins were protruding from underneath her eyes; it almost looked as if her face was made of cracked porcelain. Katherine hissed in her face, exposing her sharp fangs, threatening to kill at any moment._

_"So it is true." Cassandra whispered._

_"That's right, little girl. I was the one who bit Damon last night. I have to say he was quite delicious." She taunted, "I'm not one to share. I will have both brothers and so help me if you get in my way. I will kill you slowly and painfully if you ever try to pull the wool over my eyes again. Do you understand me?" Cassandra didn't have time to answer, hearing the front door open and voices enter the mansion._

_Katherine released her and said, "Go. See your precious Damon. I'm sure he missed you." Cassandra took that chance and ran to greet Damon. She threw her arms around him being very mindful of the wound on his neck. Katherine stood watching this disgustingly sweet scene unravel from a shadowed spot on the second floor. She would keep her promise. She wouldn't let anyone stand in the way of having both Damon and Stefan to herself._

_Weeks had passed and Cassandra never brought up the subject of Katherine being a vampire. Her parents had come home and Katherine had been on her best behavior. It was safe to say that things were back to normal. Cassandra's parents went to a ball one night and she decided to stay home, feeling slightly under the weather. She sat outside on her back porch, taking in the night air. She heard a rustling in the bushes, seeing them move. She got up to get a closer look but a body had pinned her against a tree._

_"Katherine?" She looked up to the girls face and saw her fangs and blood red eyes._

_"I've grown tired of keeping you alive so I am here to kill you."_

_"No, Katherine! Spare my life, please!" The young girl struggled, but she was no match for Katherine's strength._

_"I don't think so. You've been a thorn in my side ever since I came here. Hmm, now how shall I kill you? No doubt you have vervain in your system. Looks like I only have one other option."Katherine's hands now gripped the sides of Cassandra's head. "Goodbye, Cassandra." She seethed ruthlessly before snapping the young girls' neck, watching her lifeless body fall to the ground._

_Katherine entered the house, having being invited in by Cassandra's parents, and tore the house apart. She wanted to make it seem as if someone had broken into the house and stolen the little,innocent Cassandra out of her bed. When her work was finished, she took Cassandra's body and dragged it further into the woods, gathering wood for a fire. After getting the supplies ready, she placed Cassandra's body on top of the pile and set fire to it. Katherine would have loved to watch her burn, but she wanted to finish her night with Stefan._

"A vampire named Elijah and I had a deal, so I would feed him my blood and he would heal me with his. But that's another story for another time." Cassandra explained breaking her place in the story. Damon nodded for her to continue.

_Elijah had come to Cassandra's house, finding it empty and in a shambles. He followed her scent to the woods, where he saw her body atop a burning pile of wood. Elijah pulled her off before the fire was able to consume her and assessed someone had killed her, but his blood in her system was making her turn. She would awake a couple of hours later, being reborn as a vampire. He took her back to his mansion and waited for her to awaken. Cassandra's eyes fluttered as she rubbed the pain in her neck._

_"What happened?" she said to no one in particular._

_"You died." Elijah's voice rang out from the chair next to her._

_"What? I don't-"_

_"Katherine killed you and you died with my blood in your system. You are transitioning, Cassandra."_

_"To what?" She asked, terrified of the answer._

_"A vampire. You have to drink human blood to complete the process." She couldn't believe her ears. "No, it's not true! Stop trying to scare me, Elijah!"_

_"I'm not saying this to scare you, my dear."_

_"But I don't even crave blood!"_

_"Not yet, you don't. Come, I have something for you." He held his hand out for her and she took it timidly. He walked her over to the other side of the room and she saw a young boy, easily Cassandra's age, sitting on the couch. He sat unmoving, almost obediently._

_"No. I won't drink from him!" Elijah was beginning to grow impatient of her stubbornness. "You must or else you will die for good. No second chances."_

_Elijah took a fingernail and pricked it into the boys' skin, letting some blood drip out. The smell entered Cassandra's nostrils and she wanted nothing more than to taste it. Elijah took his finger and swiped up a drop of blood on his finger, offering it to her._

_"Try some. You know you want to." Elijah said to her. She still hadn't moved toward his bloody finger, even though she wanted nothing more than to do so. Growing impatient, he stuck his finger in her mouth. At first she was repulsed, but once the blood dripped onto her tongue, her body acted of its own accord. She gripped Elijah's wrist, keeping his hand in place and sucked on his finger; swirling her tongue around it, making sure she got every last drop of blood. Releasing Elijah's finger, her head lolled back and her eyes closed. When she opened them, she wanted more._

_"It tastes good, doesn't it?" She nodded at him and he gestured for her to take more. Her gums ached and she felt her fangs with her fingers, careful not to scratch herself. Elijah saw her eyes turn red and watched the dark veins spread under her eyes. She moved closer to the boy, but she wasn't quite sure how to start since this was all very new to her. Elijah chuckled at her still human behavior; any other vampire would have made their kill by now. He knew this would be gone once she took the first bite._

_"Here, let me help you." Elijah placed one of her hands on the side of boys' neck that was unscathed and the other on his shoulder._

_"Now lean in and bite." He instructed. She did as she was told and when she bit down, she felt the blood spurt all over her mouth and she drank hungrily. It was as if each gulp wasn't enough. She gripped the boy tighter and sucked him dry. That was the night her new life began._

"I never knew." Damon said quietly.

"It's alright. No one knows. Maybe it's better that way." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Elijah?" Damon asked, never hearing the vampire's name before.

"Yes, Damon. Elijah is my maker." She said quietly. "He's an Original." She added quietly. "That's why I am stronger than Katherine. I bet I'm even stronger than you and Stefan put together. His blood makes me stronger than vampire's my age and older; my senses are heightened as well."

Damon shook his head, "That doesn't make any sense. You would have had to die with his blood in your system when you died."

"I told you, that's another story." Cassandra finished. She didn't like hiding anything from the brothers; especially Damon. They were so close back then and continued to be for the last 145 years. But this whole Katherine situation was starting to shed some light on her past. She decided she wouldn't hide it, but it would be too much for her to reveal it all at once. Damon took in everything that had been brought to the surface. He bid her goodnight and went to leave, but stopped when he was almost out of the room.

"Thank you." He said turning to her.

She turned and smiled, "Damon, I just did what I was told."

"No, I mean thank you for telling me everything. I know it wasn't easy."

She threw him a lopsided smile "You're very welcome, Damon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Cassandra snuggled into the couch, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Hopefully, now that Katherine was in the tomb, things would die down for a little bit. However, she was 100% wrong; she had no idea what was in store for her.


	4. Rose

Cassandra woke up to the murmuring of Damon and Caroline downstairs. Sitting in the lounge, she found out that Tyler killed someone at the Masquerade Ball last night. Now he would be able to make his transformation when the next full moon came out to play. Great. That would be another problem to worry about. Cassandra's phone rang, it was Stefan, and he needed to speak with her and Damon right away. Elena was missing. Without another word, all three vampires were outside Mystic Falls High School.

"This has Katherine written all over it." Stefan said.

"Katherine's in the tomb. Trust me; I'm the one who shut her in." Damon assured his brother.

"Did you?" Stefan pressed.

"Did I what, Stefan?" Damon bit.

"Well, I know the hold that Katherine has on you." Stefan admitted.

"She's in the tomb. Period. End of story. But she did say something to me right before I shut her in. I thought she was lying." Damon added quietly. Both vampires' ears perked up hearing this.

"What did she say?" Cassandra asked.

"Elena's in danger." Damon answered regretfully.

"What? And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?" Stefan asked.

"Don't take it out on Damon, Stefan. We all know Katherine is a little manipulative bitch that lies through her teeth." Cassandra said trying to relax Stefan. Damon waggled his eyes at Stefan hearing his friend defend him.

"We have to go talk to her." Stefan said.

"No, no. Let me tell you how that's gonna go: We're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release, which we would be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us! This is exactly what she wants!" Damon yelled.

"I don't really care." Stefan fought back. Cassandra shook her head trying to mull this whole situation over in her head.

"No, I don't think its Katherine. Sure she's crafty but this doesn't sound like her." Damon and Stefan were silent, thinking this over.

"It's Elena we are talking about." Stefan finally said.

"Stefan, whatever you need, we'll help you." Cassandra assured her friend.

Stefan nodded but Damon shook his head. "Speak for yourself, Cassandra."

"C'mon, Damon! Now isn't the time to be selfish!"

"Look, you guys can do what you want but don't ask me to help you." With that, the eldest Salvatore left.

"Don't worry Stefan, he'll turn around." Both vampires moved back to the school to look for Bonnie. Hopefully she could help.

* * *

Cassandra waited in the classroom with Jeremy and Bonnie. She was able to do a tracking spell so they would be able to find Elena. Stefan came into the room with a duffle bag, "Alright, Alaric said we've got to clear out of here within 10 minutes. I've got the weapons." Ah good old Alaric. It was a good thing that they had a vampire hunter on their side. Nothing would be more of a pain in the ass then adding a rogue vampire hunter into the mix. Bonnie did the spell using Jeremy's blood since he was a blood relation to Elena. Her location was shown on the map.

"That's about 300 miles from here." Cassandra murmured, "Let's go, Stefan." She said.

"No, I wanna come with you!" Jeremy insisted.

"No, you're staying here!" Stefan shot him down quickly.

"Look, I have no idea who she is but she could be working for whoever took Elena!" Jeremy angrily accused Cassandra.

The vampire gripped Jeremy by his shirt, "Listen, kid. Last time I checked I'm the one who helped your sister. I'm on your side." She whispered dangerously in his face. Jeremy nodded slowly and Cassandra released his shirt. Cassandra hoisted up the duffle bag but Jeremy's words stopped her.

"But you can't do this alone!"

"They're not." Damon's voice came from the doorway, "Let's go." His head jerked to the hallway. Cassandra smiled seeing her friend. She knew he'd come around.

"You're coming with us?" Stefan asked.

"It's Elena." Damon responded in a monotone voice, reiterating his brother's words.

* * *

Damon sat in the driver's seat while Stefan was in the passenger and Cassandra was sprawled across the back of the car, sipping on a blood bag. Stefan was looking through some of Alaric's weapons, "Alaric sure like's his weapons." He said examining a little bottle filled with vervain.

"What the hell is that?" Damon asked.

"It's a vervain grenade." Cassandra said nonchalantly from the backseat. Stefan turned to look at her while Damon's ice blue eyes looked at her through the mirror. "What? I've seen them before."

"Let me guess. Run in with a vampire hunter?" Damon asked. Cassandra met his eyes in the mirror and winked at him. Damon smiled returning his eyes to the road.

"Hey, how much further is it?" Stefan asked anxiously.

"About 80 miles." Damon answered. The car was silent for a little with nothing but Cassandra's sips from her blood bag to fill the silence.

"Who do you think took her?" Stefan asked.

"It's gotta be someone from Katherine's past." Damon said.

"Thank you for helping me." Stefan smiled at his brother.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing? The cliché of it all makes me itch." He scoffed. Cassandra giggled, leaning in the middle of both brothers, her elbows on the edge of the passenger and driver seat shoulder rests.

"I agree with Stefan. I'm happy you're helping us. Plus you know that you'd never hear the end of it from me if you didn't come with us." She smirked at him.

He turned his head to face her and smirked back, "Yeah the last thing I need is to hear your mouth running for the rest of eternity!" He laughed. She gasped pretending to be hurt by his words and ruffled his hair with her fingers making it a complete mess and in disarray.

"Keep it up, girly. I can step out of helping as easily as I stepped in." He threatened playfully.

"No, you can't. Remember, my mouth running for the rest of eternity. And I can make it painful." She stuck her tongue out at him. Damon did the same and his eyes went back to the road.

Stefan's phone buzzed with a message from Jeremy. He had sent some information on an abandoned house with nothing or no one around for miles. Bingo. That had to be the place. "Where're getting close. Jeremy said there was an access road just past marker six." Stefan said.

"Pass me a blood bag sweetheart." Damon said to Cassandra. She slipped her arm in the duffle bag pulling one out, sticking a straw in it and handed to him. He looked at Stefan as he sucked the blood through the straw like a child drinking from a juice box. "If you want some, just ask." Damon taunted his brother.

"I want some." Stefan said in a sure tone.

"Aw, that's so sweet. You're gonna be all big and strong and save your girl but don't worry. I've got your back." Damon smirked.

"Ahem! What am I here for? Shits and giggles? Please, I could take the two of you on with my hands tied behind my back." Cassandra piped up.

"Hmm, make it handcuffs and you've got a deal." Damon winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

"I've been drinking a little every day. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength. Can I have some?" Stefan asked once more, breaking the two vampires from their conversation. Damon passed him the bag wordlessly and Stefan took some small sips.

"Does Elena know you're drinking blood?" Damon asked keeping his eyes on the road.

"I've been drinking hers." Stefan said nonchalantly. Both Damon and Cassandra looked at him, raising their eyebrows.

"Hmm, how romantic. Since we are road trip bonding, remember the days when all you lived for was blood? You were the guy who ripped someone apart just for the fun of it." Damon snickered.

"You mean when I was more like you?" Stefan asked wryly.

"Yes, Stefan, exactly. Back when you put blood into me so I could be a big bad vampire. I wonder if Elena would be so quick to open her veins to that guy. By the way, what happened to that guy? He was a hoot!" Damon taunted. Cassandra frowned and smacked Damon upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" He exclaimed.

"Leave your brother alone! Play nice in the sandbox, children." Cassandra smirked.

Finally, Damon pulled the car into the middle of nowhere and explained the house Jeremy described was within walking distance. They all came to the conclusion that the vampire who took Elena would be at least 500 years old. That was no problem for Cassandra but she was worried about the brothers. However, there was no talking Stefan out of this. He cared for Elena and nothing would stop him from getting to her.

* * *

The three vampires stood outside the house, listening for any signs of movement. Cassandra placed her hands and ear up against the outer wall. She heard Elena and another two vampires, both strong. But there was another aura that was difficult to read.

"Elena's in there; she's safe. Two vampires…no…three. Two are the same age but one is much older."

"Do you know who they are?" Stefan asked.

Cassandra pressed her ear closer to the wall and squinted, "Rose and Trevor; old vampires. I know them but the other one-" Cassandra's ears perked up listening to the unnamed man's' voice. She froze, knowing exactly who it was. Listening closer she heard one of the heartbeats in the room come to a screeching halt. She let out a shaky breath hearing Elena's heartbeat hammering away; she was still alive.

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Stefan asked, "Who is it? What happened? What did you hear?"

Cassandra leaned against the outside wall, not able to form words. "Those three vampires' are now down to two. He-he killed Trevor." Whoever was in the building was scaring her shitless.

"Who's 'he'?" Stefan asked a little more urgency this time.

"Elijah." Damon's eyes widened while Stefan stood confused as to who Elijah was in relation to her.

"So, what's the problem? I mean I know he's really old and he can kill all three of us with one hand but you've got his big, bad vampire blood in you so taking him out should be easy." Damon said. Silence fell over the trio as they waited for a response.

"Wait, so Elijah, an Original, turned you?" Stefan stammered. "Yep, that's why she's juiced up and can take on older vampires." The elder brother explained.

"I'm not bionic, Damon! My power has its limits!" She really tossed around the idea of throwing in the towel. Elijah was dangerous not to mention trying to stake your creator wasn't the most respectful thing to do either.

"We can't back out now. Elena is in there!" Stefan was clearly angry that is best friend was backing out in a time like this.

"I'm sorry, Stefan." She said pitifully.

"Whatever. You can sit outside and pout while we go in there and get torn limb from limb." Damon added sarcastically. Cassandra let that sink in for a little bit. Damon always had a way of giving her guilt even if it wasn't intentional. She was being selfish and she really liked Elena. She was innocent in this whole ordeal. After much contemplation she nodded signaling she was ready to go. "Alright here's what's gonna happen. We distract Elijah. Stefan, you get Elena. Cassandra gets the other vampire and I stake him." They all agreed on the plan; there was no turning back now.

* * *

Sneaking through the front door, they stopped to listen to the voices in the adjoining room. Cassandra caught the brothers' attention and she jerked her head to the staircase. Both understanding her; moved up the stairs without making a sound.

This needed to be quick, the signal was given and Cassandra ripped up some wooden boards from the floor to make some noise. Hearing Elijah, Rose, and Elena shuffling in the next room; Cassandra told Damon and Stefan to move into place. Each vampire stood hidden in the shadows waiting for the opportune moment.

"Who else is in this house?" Elijah bellowed.

"I don't know." Rose stammered, holding on to Elena. Cassandra and Stefan nodded and blurred past Elijah and grabbed their respective hostages; hiding on the outer edge of the staircase, out of Elijah's site.

"Up here." Stefan taunted.

"Down here." Damon laughed.

You could tell Elijah was getting pissed. He blurred up the stairs just in time for Stefan to shoot a small stake through his hand. Damon stood with a stake ready when Cassandra zoomed to him with Rose. "Take her." She whispered. "But-" Damon's protests were silenced when she placed a dainty finger over his lips.

"Excuse me?" Elijah shouted from the bottom of the stairs, extracting the stake as if it were a splinter, "To Whom It May Concern, you're making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear me?" All of them listened to his threats as he started to take apart a standing wooden coat holder.

"I repeat: you cannot beat me." Cassandra's breathing quickened hearing him tear off the metal hooks like they were nothing. "So I want the girl on the count of three or heads will roll." He broke off the top of the holder making it a splintered point, "Do we understand each other?" He asked to no one in particular. Cassandra chose now to reveal herself. She saw Damon reach after her but her eyes told him to stay put.

"Now Elijah, why must you always resort to violence?" She mocked from the shadows. He smirked hearing her voice instantly. It had been such a long time since he has seen her. Her heels clicked across the first floor as she sauntered from the shadows to face the man who turned her all those years ago. He stood in silence just looking over her. She certainly wasn't the innocent girl he met in 1864; she was a woman. In her eyes he was still as handsome as ever but in this situation it made him all the more dangerous. He blurred down the staircase standing right in front of her.

"Cassandra dear, it's been too long. Where is the girl?" He cut right to the chase.

"She is safe, Elijah. I won't let you take her."

"You wouldn't be smart to defy me." He challenged. She was terrified but she did a damn good job of hiding it. He could end her undead life just as quickly as he started it. But she had to do this for Damon and Stefan.

"Please, Elijah - do this for me?" She begged.

"Negotiating now are you?" He mocked.

"You promised me you would keep my family safe. You broke that promise! This is a chance to redeem yourself. You owe me that much."

"I owe you nothing." He flew up the stairs with incredible speed to look for Elena but Cassandra blurred in front of him. Elijah reached forward and snapped her arm like a twig. She stifled a scream and she heard the bone heal over within seconds. Elijah was impressed how fast she healed since she hadn't had his blood in over a hundred years.

"I see my blood is still treating you well. I guess I will have to try harder to break you." He tore a piece of the banister and stabbed it into her chest only to quickly rip it out. She howled louder but the wound still healed up extremely fast.

He discarded the weapon and went to move up the stairs once again but Cassandra grabbed his upper arm; he swung her to him and gripped her head with both of his hands. His eyes locked onto hers with a menacing stare. Suddenly a white hot pain shot through her head. It was as if hundreds of thousands of tiny knives were stabbing and piercing at her head. She doubled over in pain but Elijah moved with her not letting go. The pain got more and more unbearable by the second.

Screaming. All Damon could hear were her screams. She wasn't kidding when she said his blood would only do so much for her. He felt a twinge of guilt creeping over his heart as his friends screams intensified tenfold. Even Rose cringed at the sounds piercing though the air. Right now he had to keep an eye and Rose and helplessly listen to his friends' ear piercing screams.

Blood had started to drip from her ears as Elijah's torture continued. She tried to scratch and claw at his hands gripping her head but the little cuts healed up as quickly as they were caused. His grip only tightened on her head. Having heard enough of her screams, Elijah tossed her body down the stairs with incredible force. She hit the bottom of the staircase with a sickening thud and she lay there unmoving.

Stefan saw the body of his lifelong friend lying still on the floor. Had she been human, Elijah would have easily killed her. She was alive but she was barely breathing. He could hear her faint heart beat still fighting. Elena's breathing quickened seeing how quickly Elijah had squashed her. Without Cassandra they were stuck between a rock and Elijah.

Elijah continued to watch her from the top of the stairs. She still hadn't moved but he knew she was very much alive. Her blood trickling from her ears made his mouth water and he contemplated draining her then and there. Being turned by an Original gave her heightened Vampiric abilities and it also makes her blood taste sweeter. However, he still wanted to continue his fun with her.

Her eyes flicked open and she felt the air invade her lungs. She suddenly started coughing and sputtering on the wooden floor. She knew several bones in her body were broken by the fall but they had already started resetting. She had hoped Damon, Stefan, Elena and Rose had left so they would be out of harm's way.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Elijah said from his new position towering over her. He tangled his fingers into her hair and yanked her off the floor. Shoving her against a pillar, he examined her more closely, seeing traces of her blood on her face and neck.

Just a taste, his mind whispered. His face bent down to her neck and his tongue licked the blood. He savored the taste with a hum of satisfaction. He bent down again gently latching onto her skin and sucked on her neck. His teeth were nibbling the surrounding skin, fighting the urge to bite down harder. Her taste was unlike any other blood he's ever tasted.

She desperately bit back a moan as his fangs scraped her skin. In any other scene, this would be most pleasurable but she knew this wouldn't end well. He pulled himself back and she saw his dark eyes with veins protruding underneath them. His long canines were sharp and ready for the kill. The face of a vampire.

"Still as sweet as I remember." He whispered.

"I'll come with you! Please just don't hurt my friends. They were just trying to help." Elena shouted from the top of the staircase. Both vampires whipped around at the sound of her voice.

"No! Elena don- ARGH!" Her words were cut off immediately as Elijah tugged violently at her hair.

What happened next came so fast. Cassandra was thrown to the ground and Elijah stood before Elena. Acting quickly Elena tossed a vervain bomb at Elijah. He screamed as the vervain burned his skin. Out of nowhere Stefan started shooting Elijah with mini stakes but he wasn't fazed as they pierced his body. Both men tumbled to the bottom of the stairs. Elijah went to make a move on Stefan but Damon beat him to the punch. Damon wedged a stake into Elijah's heart, holding him to the wall as he watched the elder vampires' skin turn grey.

Elena ran for Stefan and Damon saw Rose scamper away, but he didn't have time to worry about her. He ran to Cassandra; her body hadn't moved from its spot on the floor. Damon cradled her into his arms and brushed her hair out of her face. "Cassandra! Hey c'mon kid, wake up!" She was alive but he needed to see her eyes open to set his mind at ease.

"Damon, it hurts." she groaned through half open lids. "Where is Eli-?"

"He's dead, Cassandra. Don't worry, he won't hurt you anymore." He comforted her. She gave him a faint smile but he saw her pain.

"C'mon, let's get outta here. Can you stand?"

"Yeah - just give me a hand." He helped her up to her feet but she swayed and fell. Damon caught her before her head hit the ground. "Woah, Woah! I gottcha! It's alright." She was so weak and he could tell. He hooked his arm underneath her knees and the other arm supported her back. He made a mental note to get her a blood bag as soon as they got back to the house. Her head lolled against his chest and her eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

Back at the house, Cassandra sat on one of the couches sipping her mug of blood. She watched the flames in the fireplace dance in her eyes but she couldn't shake the feeling that Elijah had been killed so easily.

"Easy, tiger! Wouldn't want you to get wrinkles now would we?" Damon joked from the kitchen. She smiled. That was always something Damon had been able to do even in the worst of times.

"He can't be dead. That was way too easy. If I'd had known, I would have saved myself the trouble of trying to fight him."

"Well believe it sweetheart, he's dead. I saw it with my own two eyes."

"I know. It's still unnerving though."

Normally, silence would bother someone, but not them. If anything, the silence was comfortable. It was never awkward with Damon. "Why did he turn you?" Damon asked, finally breaking the silence.

"It was more of an accident really. I had his blood and when Katherine killed me, it was still in my system."

"I feel a story coming on." he smirked.

"It's a long story." She said, wanting to avoid the topic

"We've got all the time in the world, sweetheart." She fell silent but decided it was time for him to know the truth. No more hiding. "I caught him feeding one night and he let me go. I still don't know why. He decided it would be a good idea to use my family as blackmail. If I told anyone his secret, he would kill them."

_She stood in her room, watching her dinner guest leave the house from her window. He had been over her house multiple times and he charmed her parents effortlessly. She however, was not fooled. In her eyes he was still a vampire. A blood sucking vampire. She felt a presence in her room and spoke aloud, her eyes never leaving the window._

_"I thought you had left, Elijah."_

_"No, dear. I was hunting just off your father's property."_

_"That's not smart. You never know who could see you."_

_He chuckled lightly. This was very true considering that was where she found him that fateful night. She had caught him feeding off some unsuspecting girl he lured into the woods. He hadn't hurt Cassandra that night but he did promise to keep her family safe if she kept her mouth shut about that night. Elijah was surprised that she hadn't uttered a word to anyone. Even her precious Salvatore brothers were unaware of their meetings._

_"I think I'll be alright. Besides, I didn't catch a snack anyway." He assured her._

_"Well, what are you doing back here?" she snapped._

_"I came to collect." He answered._

_Yes, collect. This kind of deal needed payment to seal the deal. Their deal wasn't sealed with money or sex. It was sealed with blood. In return for her family's safety she would give him some of her blood. Morbid yes, but it was something that had to be done._

_"Fine." She rolled up her sleeve, exposing her wrist to him. He grasped her wrist, gently rubbing his thumb over the pulsing veins underneath the skin. That was one thing she did like about Elijah: he was gentle with her. He wouldn't savagely rip open her skin. If anything, he would be affectionate with her. He normally took blood from her wrist but tonight he had a different idea. He pulled her closer to him and turned her so that her back was to his chest. She froze in his grip, unsure of what he was planning._

_"What are you doing?" her voice cracked and wavered._

_"I would like to try something – with your permission of course." He whispered. One arm encircled her waist._

_"Y-yes." She stammered. She was terrified. Certainly he didn't think of killing her in her own house, not with her parent's room down the hall. She instantly tensed just thinking about it. Sensing her tension, Elijah tried calming her by whispering words of comfort in her ear._

_"I haven't hurt you before, Cassandra. I won't start now." He assured her. She nodded understandingly. Yes, he did feed off her but he had relaxed her enough so she would feel the least amount of pain._

_"Just try to relax and focus on my touch." He cooed in her ear. His other hand came up to cradle her neck and tilt it towards his mouth. His lips brushed her neck with a feather light touch that made her swoon. She let out a shaky breath as he placed open mouth kisses on her throat. She relaxed into his body as he continued to kiss her neck. His actions were extremely pleasurable and very intimate. It was as if the whole world disappeared and it was just the two of them. She gently gripped the hand that was holding her waist to him while her other hand entangled in his hair._

_"Good girl." He encouraged. He was very pleased she was enjoying herself. Quite frankly, the feeling of her skin under his lips was making his stomach jump with anticipation. He found the spot he wanted to bite. Not wanting to scare her, he gently nibbled on her neck, his tongue sliding over the skin. She let out a sigh of satisfaction, tugging at his hair a little bit. He growled playfully into her neck, dragging his fangs down the column of her throat._

_"Elijah..." She quietly moaned. Hearing her pleas, he softly pierced her skin, letting the blood spill into his mouth. She let out a moan at the contact and gripped him tighter. Her blood was incredibly delectable. It tasted even better coming from her neck, rather than her wrist. Elijah always thought it was much more intimate to drink from the neck - he enjoyed the closeness between them and, wanting to take too much from her, he begrudgingly slid his fangs out of her neck but he still held onto her. She staggered in his grip and fell back against him._

_"Are you alright?" He asked her._

_"Mm hm." She replied, still in her haze of pleasure. He scooped her up and brought her over to her bed. He sat her up to examine the bite. It wasn't too deep since he had wanted it to heal easily. He bit into his wrist and placed it to her lips. She weakly held his bloody wrist and drank from the wound. He groaned, feeling her tongue darting out to touch his wrist. He combed his hand through her hair as she drank. By the time she was finished the wound on her neck was fully healed; not even a scar. She had regained some of her strength back and she was able to sit up right on the bed against the headboard. Elijah quickly moved to the adjoining washroom to grab a damp rag and returned to her bedside to clean the remaining blood off her neck and mouth._

_"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked, concerned._

_"No. You were more than gentle." She smiled at him. That smile could melt anyone's heart. As he finished cleaning her off he saw her eyes dropping._

_"You should get some sleep. You are tired, yes?_

_"Mmm." She yawned and she snuggled under the covers. He placed a kiss on her forehead and bid her goodnight. As he turned to leave he felt her little hands grip his sleeve._

_"Wait." She got up on her knees in her bed and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." She smiled at him before snuggling back under the covers. Elijah felt where her lips had touched him before he escaped out of her bedroom window._

"He just happened to come the night before Katherine killed me. I was lucky, I guess." She frowned at Damon's face; he was clearly upset she never told him about Elijah. "Damon, I had to do it for my family. Please don't be angry with me."

"I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with him. You were innocent and had no right to do that."

"That's all in the past now. That part of my life is over." The silence overtook them again; Damon mainly mulling over her story. Katherine at least compelled him and Stefan to think everything was normal. Cassandra on the other hand had no compulsion and she was privy to Elijah's deal.

"How are you feeling?" He asked concerned.

"Better. I think I might take a shower and get this blood off me." She got up off the couch and started to make her way to the staircase.

"Mind if I join you?" He smirked.

"No, not at all. You can shower in one bathroom and I will shower in another. There - we would be showering together." She smirked back at him.

"It's not like it's anything I haven't seen!" He shouted from his spot on the couch.

"Whatever, Damon." She laughed, climbing the stairs.

* * *

Cassandra came down the stairs, seeing Stefan stalking in the lounge with a stake in his hands. "What happened?"

"I don't know, someone's here." He said, not looking at her. She listened for any sign of movement. Finally hearing it, she grabbed the vampire mid-run and slammed them into the wall, hissing and baring her fangs. It was Rose.

"Still as strong as ever." Rose hissed at the vampire holding her to the wall.

"And you're still a fast runner." Cassandra shot back. Stefan watched the staring match between the two vampires as time seemed to stand still.

Both of their faces reverted back to normal and they embraced each other. "I can't believe you made it out alive." Rose whispered.

"Wait, you know her?" Stefan asked, still holding the stake firmly in his hands.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Rose said, pulling away from her friend and facing Stefan.

"Why are you here?" Stefan pressed.

"Lexi once told me that you're the good ones." Rose answered.

"You knew Lexi?" Stefan said, putting the stake down.

"Trevor was my best friend. For 500 years I have lived with one person and he's gone and I don't want to run anymore because I don't have anywhere else to run to." Rose said sadly.

Cassandra placed a comforting hand on her friends' shoulder. "I'm so sorry about Trevor, Rose." Rose nodded her head and smiled at Cassandra.

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you." Stefan said politely.

"I don't need your help but I think you need mine. Elijah may be dead but this isn't over."

"What do you mean 'this isn't over'?"

"It isn't over. The Originals, they'll come for her. They have to. They're doing it for him." Rose explained.

"For whom?" Stefan asked quietly.

"Klaus." Rose finished. Cassandra's body tensed. Stefan didn't notice it but Rose did. Cassandra hadn't heard his name in so long that it sent a shiver down her spine.

* * *

Cassandra was sitting in her bed looking through some old pictures of her, Damon and Stefan back in 1864. They were all so happy back then. She heard a soft knock at her door, "Come in." she said, not looking up from the photos. She felt the bed dip and she saw a familiar masculine hand take a picture from the box.

"Wow, these are old." Damon said, running his fingers over the worn photograph. Cassandra didn't speak; she just kept flipping through the pictures. She came across one that made her smile.

"Remember this?" she showed him the picture of her and Damon astride two beautiful horses.

"Yeah. Stefan took it." He smiled instantly seeing the image. "This wasn't taken long after we met. Remember when we met?" He recalled.

She tore her eyes from the photo, "Of course. I remember it like it was yesterday."

_Cassandra trailed behind her mother and father, emerging from the carriage. They had been invited for tea at the Salvatore mansion. Cassandra had heard that they were a very prestigious family in Mystic Falls and their house certainly confirmed that. Walking up the porch an older gentleman, about her father's age, opened the door._

_"Ah, Mr. Emerson! Giuseppe Salvatore, it is a pleasure to meet you." The man now addressed as Giuseppe introduced himself to the Emerson's. "Please come in." Giuseppe invited._

_The outside of the house had been beautiful but the inside was all the more spectacular. After some tea in the lounge, they all moved to the gardens where Cassandra saw two handsome young men playing football. She had seen her male friends play back home but they played much too rough for her. "Damon! Stefan!" Giuseppe called to the two boys. They stopped their playing and moved to their fathers' side; panting from their game._

_"May I introduce you to my sons. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson, these are my sons, Stefan and Damon." The boys shook her father's hand firmly and placed a kiss on her mother's. "And this is their daughter, Cassandra." The brown haired, green eyed boy smiled and took her hand, lightly kissing it._

_"It is nice to meet you, Miss Emerson. I'm Stefan."_

_Cassandra curtsied and replied. "It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Salvatore."_

_The other boy stepped forward his sharp blue eyes contrasting with his black hair and nudged Stefan out of way, clearly eager to meet this beautiful woman. Cassandra giggled lightly but Mr. Salvatore rolled his eyes at his sons' actions. "And I, Miss Emerson, am Damon. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said proudly, kissing her hand, his eyes never leaving hers._

_"A pleasure, Dam- Mr. Salvatore." She corrected herself. It was never polite to call people by their first name unless you were more acquainted or without company and right now Cassandra had neither. Damon gave her a wolfish grin._

_"Sons, shall you show Miss Emerson more of the gardens?" Giuseppe inquired._

_"Certainly, father." Damon offered first, holding out his arm for Cassandra to take. "Miss Emerson? Shall we?" She smiled and linked her arm with his._

_"We shall, Mr. Salvatore." He winked at her and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks._

_The three of them walked through the expansive gardens. Both of them were still gentlemen, taking turns leading her throughout the grounds. They had come to the clearing where they had started. Cassandra spotted the ball the brother's had been initially playing with and she picked it up; tossing it between her hands. The boys looked at her with confused glances; no woman ever played such rough sports._

_"Have you ever played before?" Stefan asked her._

_"No. My friends at home played though." She replied, still tossing the ball around before Damon snatched it from her playfully._

_"Ah, sports are no place for a lady!" he curtsied deeply; waving his hands like a bloody fool._

_Cassandra laughed and snatched the ball back, "Whoever said I was a lady, Mr. Salvatore?" she challenged. Damon stepped closer to her, towering over her small form. Cassandra smiled and tossed the ball to Stefan, who caught it quickly. Stefan shook one of his hands out; the catch hurting his fingers. Damon and Stefan exchanged glances once again. "I never said I didn't know how to play." She said playfully. Damon and Stefan were still in shock when Mr. Salvatore and Cassandra's parents had come back to meet them._

_"Cassandra, dear? It's time we leave." Her mother called. Cassandra nodded her head and moved to Stefan, he took her hand and kissed it._

_"I'm sorry about your hand." She whispered apologetically. Stefan smiled and she moved to Damon next._

_"Miss Emerson, I had a wonderful afternoon. Perhaps we shall meet again?" Each word that came out of his mouth was of the utmost sincerity._

_"I would like that very much, Mr. Salvatore." She smiled as he kissed her hand. Lastly, she bid Mr. Salvatore goodbye and moved behind her parents to the carriage. The whole way home she thought that perhaps Mystic Falls wasn't such a bad place after all._


	5. Katerina

Cassandra had to admit, it was nice seeing Rose after all of this time. However, the news she brought made her all the more uncomfortable. Klaus was bad news and to hear that he was coming after Elena was even worse news. A light rap on the door brought her out of her conversation with Rose. Damon got the door and Elena walked in the mansion. Stefan met her in the foyer, "Hey." He greeted.

"What is this about?" She asked. Rose stepped from behind Stefan and Elena, visibly tensed.

They all moved back to the lounge, "Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all of this vampire crap but Klaus, I know he's real." Rose stated.

"Who is he?" Elena asked.

"He's one of the Originals, he's a legend." Damon smirked.

"From the first generation of vampires." Stefan added.

"Like Elijah." Elena concluded.

"No. Elijah was the Easter Bunny compared to Klaus. Klaus is the real deal." Rose explained.

"Klaus is known to be the oldest." Cassandra said quietly from the corner.

"Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?" Elena said.

"Yes." Rose said at the same time Stefan said "No."

"What they're saying is; I mean if what she's saying is true…" Damon signaled to Rose.

"Which it is." Rose assured.

"And you're saying it so I won't kill you." Damon prodded.

"Which I'm not." Rose stood her ground.

"I'm looking at a solid maybe." Damon said nonchalantly.

"Look, Elijah is dead, right? So no one knows that you exist." Stefan pointed out. That was one thing they did know.

"Not that you know of." Rose said shooting down Stefan's optimism. Cassandra's head shot up from her glass, looking at Rose with wide eyes but she remained silent. "That's not helping." Damon said.

"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story." Stefan said. Cassandra had to laugh to herself, Klaus was real and she knew it. He was more like a Stephen King novel rather than a bedtime story.

"He's real and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot." Rose concluded.

"Alright, we're shaking. You made you point." Damon said sarcastically. Elena left to go to school, clearly bothered by the whole ordeal. Damon went on doing whatever it is Damon does and Rose and Cassandra were left in the lounge.

"You've been very quiet." Rose said to her friend. Cassandra did nothing but let her fingers dance around the edge of the glass.

"What do you know?" Rose asked a little more urgent this time.

"Nothing. Except I know one thing. Klaus is the real deal, and he is bad news." Cassandra said, watching the liquid swirl around in the glass.

"That's two things." Rose said with a bit of humor, never seeing her friend this upset. She glanced up at her friend and patted the spot next to her on the couch. Rose sat down and Cassandra hung her arm around her shoulder. Rose let the water works fall from her eyes just thinking about Trevor. Cassandra hugged Rose closer, patting her back and trying to soothe her.

Damon then sauntered into the room, "Alright, rosebud. I need some answers." He viewed the two embraced women on the couch, "Oh please don't tell me you're crying 'cause your buddy Trevor lost his head." He said in an uncaring tone.

"Has he always been this sensitive?" Rose inquired.

"Don't worry about him. He switches off whenever he needs to." Cassandra glared at the male vampire.

"I switch for this very reason. Takes the emotion out of it." Damon snapped. Rose got off the couch to face Damon.

"You switch yours, I'll switch mine." She challenged.

"Is that a dig?" Damon asked incredulously. Cassandra took this shot to step between the two brooding vampires.

"Alright, no need for anyone's panties to get in a twist." Her comment was directed towards Damon but he just glared over at Cassandra.

"How do I find Klaus?" Damon asked over the shorter vampire.

"You don't find Klaus, he finds you." Rose answered but Damon wasn't taking that for an answer. "Come on. Somebody's got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?"

"Add another two hundred somebody's to that and you're still not even close." Rose said.

"Humor me. You got in touch with Elijah, how'd you do it?" Damon prodded. If there was something Damon was good at, it was getting answers.

"Through a very low somebody on the churching poll. A guy named Slater in Richmond." Rose finally answered.

"Perfect. I'll drive." Damon added eagerly.

"Damon, she can't go out in the sun." Cassandra said, gesturing to the nonexistent ring on Roses' finger.

"Then you drive. Come on." Damon motioned to Rose.

* * *

After the drive, Rose, Damon and Cassandra stepped out of the car into an underground parking garage. "Back entrance. Very convenient." Damon said.

"That's the point. We can't all have little daylight rings." Rose said.

"Yeah, about that. I'll hook you up, girl." Cassandra said, linking her arm with Rose's.

"How do you know this Slater guy is even here?" Damon asked, ignoring the girl's pow-wow.

"I called him. He's here. He's always here." Rose said.

"Good." Damon said quickly before throwing Rose against the wall.

"Damon stop it!" Cassandra yelled trying to pry Damon off her friend but Damon held her back.

"Just one thing. If you are setting me up in anyway, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at." Damon seethed. Rose however, being the older vampire, shoved Damon against the side of the car.

"I'm older than you, and stronger. Don't get on my bad side." She said just as dangerously as he spoke to her. She released him, "You can trust me." She assured. Cassandra just crossed her arms and followed Rose into the coffee shop. Cassandra noticed the sunlight streaming through the windows and so did Damon.

"Whoa, what about the sunlight?" Damon asked quickly, fearing Rose might burn to crisp right then and there.

"Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?" Rose explained. Both vampires exchanged a glance while a young man made his way across the coffee shop.

"That and the free Wi-Fi." A thin brown haired man stepped up to the trio.

Rose embraced him, "Hey, how are you?" she asked warmly.

"Good. I saw you come. What are you doing here?" he said, releasing Rose.

"It's a long story but I want you to meet-"

"Damon Salvatore. Turned in 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova. So I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church was true?" Trevor asked excitedly. Damon just sat back listening to Slater rattle off his own history within a couple of sentences.

Rose smiled, "Yes it was right. Thank you for the tip. And this is-"

"Cassandra Emerson. Elijah's childe." Slater said gravely. Cassandra gave him a friendly smile, trying to lighten the mood and held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Slater." But Slater eyed her hand cautiously.

"I don't know...you might be a little too strong for me. Wouldn't want you ripping my head off." Slater said with an antsy tone and Cassandra frowned. "It's nice to meet you both, maybe." He said unsurely. He turned to Rose and asked about Trevor. Rose gave a smile but it faltered and faded to a frown.

* * *

The four of them moved to a table by the window blending in perfectly with the other inhabitants. "And you're sure Elijah's dead?" Slater questioned.

"Beyond dead." Damon assured, drinking his coffee.

"Trevor was a good man; he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the baroque period. I was in schooling for my psych PhD." Slater bragged.

"Slater's been in college since '74." Rose stated.

"When I was turned. I have eighteen degrees, three masters and 4 PhD's." Damon was getting tired of Slater's incessant bragging.

"The point?" he finally cut in, Cassandra kicked him under the table, reminding him to respect the other vampire.

"I see she's got you under her thumb." Slater said quietly. Cassandra then nudged him under the table harder than she did Damon.

"Now that I have your attention. We need your help. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook them up?" Cassandra stared Slater down. She knew he was intimidated by her so she decided it was best to use it to her advantage.

"Craigslist." Slater said simply.

"Really?" Damon raised his eyebrows.

Slater nodded his head, "Seriously. I respond to a personal ad to get somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead." Slater eyed Cassandra's reaction about Elijah's death but her gaze was unwavering. "And that's where my connection ends." Slater concluded.

* * *

Cassandra tuned out to Slater a while ago. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. She constantly kept glancing over Rose's shoulder but she saw nothing. Shaking off the creepy vibe, Cassandra looked down at her nails but something was missing. Her ring. She never took it off, so how was it missing? The other three vampires saw her distress.

"Damon, my ring. It's gone." She stammered.

"Listen to me, its fine! I walk around without a ring all the time." Rose tried to calm the frantic girl down.

"Just relax, we will wait here 'til dark and Bonnie will make you a ring." He gripped her hand and rubbed the spot where her ring would be perched on her finger. Cassandra nodded quickly, feeling calmed by his words.

Without their knowledge someone was watching them from the outside of the coffee shop. A man was passing coins between his hands; standing by a man with a guitar. He would periodically toss some coins into the guitar case. He was standing outside, watching the four vampires with intrigue.

Elijah.

* * *

"Here's what I don't get: Elijah moved around during the day, which means the original people knew the secret of the day ring. Now why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?" Damon asked.

"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa." Slater explained.

"But werewolves are extinct." Rose conflicted.

"True, I've never seen one but rumor has it." Slater shrugged his shoulders.

"Not such a rumor." Damon and Cassandra butted in at the same time.

"Mystic Falls. God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome." Slater smiled.

Elijah was still listening to the vampires talk about the curse. His mouth twisted into a smirk seeing his childe become frantic over her missing ring. He tossed the rest of coins into the guitar case and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a slim ring with a lapis lazuli stone in the center and twirled it around over his fingers. He continued to listen to the conversation waiting for the opportune moment.

"Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?" Cassandra asked.

"What do you mean?" Slater questioned.

"Well, if we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?" She clarified.

"Yeah, probably but why would you want to do that?" Slater said after a moment of thinking.

"Tell us how." Cassandra prodded, thrilled that maybe Elena wouldn't have to be sacrificed at all.

"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an Original? And keep them from walking in the sun?" Slater asked coldly. Cassandra was taken aback by his statement but her mind immediately went back to racking her brain on where her ring could be hiding.

"You wanna walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us." Damon persuaded.

* * *

Elijah was finished hearing their bantering. He took the ring in his fingers and hurled it at the window of the coffee shop. The force was so strong it broke all of the windows and sunlight fully engulfed the coffee shop; leaving no shadows. Rose, Cassandra and Slater started screaming and scrabbling around for some kind of shade. Cassandra looked at Rose to see her skin burning and she was sure she looked the same way. Cassandra threw her body on top of Rose to stop her friend from burning and she waited for the pain to flood her body as the sun burned her.

Slater had somehow managed to get away since his screaming ceased. Damon brushed the glass off his body and looked to the two female vampires. Rose's skin had started to heal since Cassandra's body created a shadow. He saw Cassandra in the sun and went to grab her away from the window but coming closer to her, he froze. Rose looked up to her friend and her face paled as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Cassandra! Why aren't you burning?" she asked exasperatedly. Cassandra didn't feel any pain and her skin was completely intact. Damon's eyes widened seeing his friend unscathed.

"I-I don't know." The vampire stammered.

That was exactly what Elijah wanted to see. He'd known Cassandra wouldn't be affected by the sun. He saw her turn to see if she could catch the culprit. Her eyes met his and all he did was smirk before leaving the scene.

"Cassandra! Take her out to the car." Damon brought her out of her daze. It couldn't be Elijah! He was dead! Everyone was sure of it! She scooped up her friend and brought her to the back entrance of the coffee shop and into the parking garage.

"You'll be okay, Rose." She assured, placing her friend in the car.

"Where is Slater?" Rose asked frantically.

"Who knows? He'll be alright." Cassandra said and Rose's face was completely healed by now and she couldn't help but ask, "You could have died protecting me!" she scolded.

"But I didn't! You're my friend Rose. I couldn't let you suffer." Cassandra bit back.

"Why didn't you burn?" she asked again quietly. Cassandra was silent for a long time, she really had no idea.

"I don't know, Rose. I just don't know."

* * *

Damon looked around the coffee shop for Slater but he came up empty. Something on the floor glinted and caught his eye. It was something he would recognize anywhere. Cassandra's ring. So that's what broke the windows. But who could have had it? And more importantly how did Cassandra make it out of that alive? Needing answers, he grabbed Cassandra's ring and headed out to the car.

"Did you see who did it?" Damon asked, climbing in the front seat.

Cassandra just shook her head and Rose responded a low 'no' from the backseat. Damon took that for an answer and drove back to Mystic Falls.

* * *

The entire car ride back was silent, no one spoke a word. Finally back at the Salvatore mansion, Cassandra learned Elena went to the tomb to visit Katherine, leaving a brooding Stefan. Damon was once again drinking in the lounge when Cassandra joined him.

"Hey." She said sitting on the couch.

"Hey. Any luck finding your ring?" he asked.

Cassandra sighed, "No, I can't find it anywhere." Damon moved to stand in front of her and took an object out of his pocket.

"Looking for this?" he waggled his eyebrows at her. She gasped and leapt for her ring but Damon was sure to keep it out of her grasp. "My ring! Damon, give it!" She jumped, trying to grab it from Damon but he was much too tall for her.

"Jeez babe, you'd think someone would have turned you after you grew a couple of inches." He smirked at her height as he dangled her ring in front of her as if she was an animal begging for a treat.

"I'm serious! Give it back!" She yelled once more but Damon hooked his arm behind his back hiding the ring from her site.

"Ah, ah, ah, now I think you have some questions to answer for me. Why didn't you burn today?"

"Damon, I don't know! If I would have known don't you think I would have told you?" She blurred behind Damon but he turned on her, facing her again.

"Nah, I'm not buying that! I think you know something we don't. In fact you don't really need it because you didn't burn like a marshmallow today." He taunted.

"I only know one thing. I saw Elijah outside the coffee shop today." She confessed. Damon just laughed in her face.

"That's funny, sweetheart 'cause he's dead."

"I know what I saw, Damon. Now give me my ring back!" She yelled, jumping at him. She effectively tackled him to the wall and his hands flew up keeping her ring out of her reach. She growled but he silenced her, flipping her over so he was pinning her to the wall. He shoved her wrists above her head.

"You know if you wanted to play dirty, you could have just asked." He smirked but it was wiped clean off his face when she threw him to the floor.

"Actually I prefer playing rough." She smirked from above him. He brought his hands up and flexed his fingers in a 'come here' motion.

"Show me what you got!" he challenged. She didn't miss a beat, straddling his lap and continuing to reach for her precious ring. He flipped her over and pressed his full body weight against her, effectively keeping her still. They were panting heavily; their lips just inches from each others.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting something." Rose said from the doorway, her hand covering her eyes. Both vampires untwisted their bodies, hearing her voice.

"Is it safe to look now?" Rose asked teasingly, stepping into the room.

"Yes, Rose. It's not what you think." Damon panted.

"Yeah, Damon found my ring an-"

Rose gasped, "He found it! That's great!"

Cassandra smiled and held up her hand, her ring glistening. "Yep. It certainly is." She smirked at Damon. He looked at her wide eyed, wondering how she managed to get her ring back. "Well, I'm going to turn in. Goodnight guys." Cassandra walked out of the room to take a nice cold shower, after that steamy little fight. Truth be told, Damon could use the same thing.

Once her friend was out of ear shot Rose asked, "So, what was that all about?" Damon rolled his eyes, pouring some bourbon in a glass.

"I found her ring in the coffee shop and I wanted some answers from her." He explained.

"So rolling around on the floor was going to get it out of her?" Rose asked sarcastically. Damon went silent and fake laughed in Rose's face.

"Look, uhm today, I want to say thank you for everything." She said sweetly.

"For what exactly?" Damon asked impatiently.

"For watching over me and Cassandra. I saw you try to pull her away from the sun. That was very sweet of you." Rose said truthfully. Damon downed his alcohol, "If the situation was reversed I know she would have done the same for me."

* * *

Cassandra was sitting up in bed, reading a book she stole from Damon's room. She heard Rose come in and sit next to her.

"Hey!" Rose said excitedly.

"Hi." Cassandra said, still embarrassed from Rose seeing her underneath Damon.

"C'mon, I saw the way you were looking at each other." Rose nudged her friend in a teasing matter.

"No way, Rose! That sun must have burned you really bad. I think you're going delusional." She denied.

"You're falling in love with him again, aren't you?" She whispered. Cassandra's eyes widened, hearing the words come out of her mouth.

"No, I'm not! We're just friends, Rose!" Cassandra denied once again.

"What? You loved him once before!" Rose stated.

"Loved. Rose, that's the key word." Cassandra was sure to express 'love' in the past tense.

"He loved you though. I can see it by the way he looks at you." Rose smiled but Cassandra just stared at her trying to register what she just said. Rose rolled her eyes at her friend's stubbornness but her phone blared loudly, saving Cassandra from this embarrassing conversation.

"Hello?" she answered politely.

 _"Rose?"_  a masculine voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

"Slater." Rose breathed, relieved that her friend was alright. Cassandra saw Damon walk down the hall and she snapped her fingers to get his attention. He walked into the room, hearing the tail end of Rose's conversation.

 _"You can destroy the curse but you need the moonstone."_  Slater said.

"I don't follow." Rose said confused.

 _"Can your friend get the moonstone? You need it."_  Slater said through the phone. Damon nodded to Rose.

"Yes, he can get it. What's next?" Rose said back into the phone.

 _"You need a witch. Get the moonstone, a witch should be able to figure out the rest. Good luck, Rose."_  And with that, Slater hung up the phone. The three vampires raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances at Slater's abruptness.

* * *

Slater hung up his cell phone and paced around his apartment.

"Very nicely done." Elijah's voice rang from behind him.

"Thanks. I have a degree in theatre." Slater shifted nervously in the Original's presence.

"And Cassandra. What of her?" Elijah asked.

"Yes, she is there. She was unaffected by the sun without her ring. Why?" Slater asked timidly.

"Oh she's a special vampire. As am I." Elijah said simply.

"Is that how you compelled me? I thought a vampire can't compel other vampires? Is that because you're an Original?"

Elijah was growing tired of Slater's constant questioning. "I want you to take this and drive it through your heart." He compelled him, holding up a wooden stake. Slater took it, "But that will kill me forever." He said sadly.

"I know." Elijah responded. "But it's necessary." He compelled him once more. Slater closed his eyes and drove the stake through his heart, his body collapsing on the floor and permanently graying. Jonas steps from behind Elijah with a grave look on his face.

"Was it really?" he asked quietly.

"It had to be done. He delivered his message. Won't be long now." Elijah took one last look at Slater's body and left the apartment with Jonas behind him.


	6. The Sacrifice

Elena came into the boarding house the following morning looking for Rose. She had every intention of luring Klaus from the rock he was currently hiding under. The doppelganger was in no way willing to lay Stefan and Damon on the line for her safety. Closing the front door behind her, a delicious aroma filled the air from the kitchen. Following her nose, Elena heard light female laughter, perhaps it was Rose? Elena stepped into the kitchen and she saw Cassandra perched on the counter in her bra and panties with a shirtless man standing between her legs. The pair was engaged in a steamy kiss. His hands roamed all over her body, trying to grab and grope at any piece of skin while her nails scratched down his chest. Elena really thought the man looked like Damon.

"Cassandra?" Elena called to the couple. The man turned around and embarrassingly enough it wasn't Damon. He might as well have been, he was stunning. Elena then took notice to the fresh bite marks on his neck, shoulders and chest, so he was obviously human. A vampire would have healed by themselves. Cassandra hissed at the person who dared to interrupt her meal. Her fangs were out and the veins under her eyes became visible, but as soon as she saw that it was Elena, her harsh demeanor crept back into the depths from where it came.

"Oh, Elena! I didn't even hear you come in." She said cheerfully and nonchalantly, as if there wasn't a gorgeous, shirtless man standing between her legs.

"Hi, uhm, I'm sorry. I thought that was Damon." Elena said sheepishly. Certainly the situation itself was awkward enough but Cassandra wasn't fazed that a human had caught her half naked.

"Nope." Cassandra's hands stroked down the man's chest all the way to the waistband of his boxers. She hooked her finger underneath the elastic and pulled him closer. That gesture only made Elena blushed harder.

"Uhm, is Rose here? I need to talk to her." She asked, trying to avert her eyes.

"Oh, she's hiding somewhere in the shadows." Cassandra quipped.

"Very funny, Cassandra." Rose sounded off as she crept into the kitchen; careful not to walk through the sunlight that was streaming through the windows. "Who's this?" Rose motioned to the man.

"This is Michael. He's…breakfast." She winked at Rose.

"Isn't he more like brunch? It's after twelve o' clock." Rose shrugged.

"Hmm, with blood like his he can be whatever he wants. Right, baby?" She brushed her lips with Michael's and he deepened their kiss. Rose and Elena exchanged glances and the vampire pulled Cassandra away from her meal.

"Finish up with Michael, please? We don't need anyone on our tracks." The older vampire chided. Cassandra nodded understandingly and hopped off the counter, taking Michael by the hand and leading him to her room. Rose couldn't help but hold back a laugh looking at how short Cassandra was to Michael. She recalled Damon joking about Cassandra's height the night she found them rolling around on the floor. Rose let that thought drift from her mind and turned to Elena, "What do you need?"

The doppelganger recovered from her embarrassment, "Stefan told me your friend, Slater, obviously has more information about Klaus."

"And where are you going with this?" Rose asked before Elena could get further into her explanation.

"You owe me."

"I owe you?" Rose scoffed.

"One word from me, and Damon and Stefan could have you killed for kidnapping me." Elena said.

"Or maybe it's because you know that they wouldn't want you doing this." Rose said.

"We're having a disagreement, okay? They are willing to risk everyone I love, but I'm not." The doppelganger defended.

"They're trying to protect you." Rose said finally. "And you haven't proven that you couldn't care less if I was protected, so we are back to you taking me to see Slater." Elena said proving her point.

"What exactly do you hope to achieve by this?" Rose asked.

"How would you like to be able to walk in the daylight?" Elena figured that would be a good enough bribe for Rose. She'd lived all that time without a daylight ring and she was positive that Bonnie could make her one.

"I've been a slave to the shadows for 500 years, what do you think?"

"I think I know a witch who's willing to do whatever it takes to help if you're willing to make a deal." Elena said smiling. She had Rose eating out of the palm of her hand.

* * *

Cassandra tossed Michael on her bed and crawled up his body. Her lips caressed his toned abs and chest before making their way to his lips.

"I'm not done with you yet, sexy." Cassandra smirked when Michael suddenly rolled her over and pinned her wrists to the mattress. The vampire could very easily overpower him, but she wanted to play coy.

"I'd be happy if you're never done with me." He said huskily in her ear and pressed little kisses to her neck.

"Ooh, someone likes to be in control." She bit her lip teasingly. "C'mon big boy, I spent enough time under you last night." She pouted and Michael pulled back to look down at her.

"Then by all means…" Michael flipped them over, making Cassandra squeal loudly. "Take control, sweetheart and show me how it's done."

"Of course." She purred before crushing her lips on his. She had found Michael at the Grill last night when she had a craving for a late night snack. She hadn't planned to take him home with her, but he'd managed to worm his way under her skin. She also felt the need for a release; it had been a while since the last time she just let herself go. This guy knew exactly what buttons to press and the alcohol helped to loosen her up. Michael happened to be a great catch, his hands and mouth of his was heaven.

Being a vampire, sex came with the territory. Kissing leads to sucking, sucking leads to biting and biting leads to sex. Cassandra kissed down his body until she found the place where she wanted to bite. She sucked hard on a patch of skin on his stomach, releasing the skin with a loud pop. Michael moaned softly and she stole a look up at him, his eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly ajar. Cassandra let her face change and gently slid her fangs into his skin. Michael's back arched as he cried out in pleasure, tugging on her hair.

Cassandra hated to see people in pain, especially if she was feeding. Whenever she fed she made sure her human would be at ease. Perhaps it was that little shred of humanity she never let go of. It was that little soft spot for humans. Granted should could cause pain, but only to those who needed the pain. She drank her fill then looked up at Michael who hadn't come down from his high yet. She smiled, her fangs retracted and eyes went back to the soft brown that was so entrancing.

The vampire heard Rose clearing her throat from in the lounge and that was her way of saying, hurry up. Cassandra sighed and stroked Michael's thigh, "I'm sorry, babe, but you gotta go."

* * *

She led a fully clothed Michael to the front door and compelled him to forget her and go home. He complied but Elena noticed that all of his bite marks were healed.

"You healed him?" She asked as Cassandra closed the door.

"Yep. Why you surprised?"

"A little." She shrugged.

"Not all vampires are like Damon, Elena. Although we all have our good and bad days. Everything go okay with Rose?"

"Yeah, I just needed to ask her something." Elena said not faltering at all. She didn't need Cassandra finding out what they were up to.

"Okay." The vampire answered just as nonchalantly and Elena left. Cassandra's phone rang and she pulled it out of her bra, realizing that she was still in her lingerie, "Hello?" She answered.

 _"Jeez, you're finally up! You must have had some night last night."_  She could practically hear Damon's smirk through the phone.

"As a matter of fact I did. Thanks for noticing." She smirked. "What's up?"

 _"Get dressed. Me, Stefan and Bonnie are coming to the boarding house."_  Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"And how would you know that I'm not dressed?"

 _"Lucky guess. The black one with the pink lace flowers?"_  He inquired. She looked down and her mouth hung open. Cassandra didn't have time to rebut as she heard the dial tone in her ear.

"Dick." She muttered jogging up the stairs.

* * *

Cassandra let everyone in the house, including Jeremy since he was with Bonnie and the vampire was sure to glare at Damon. He just smirked at her.

"Please don't tell me you went through my lingerie again." He just chuckled and she shoved his shoulder.

"I might be able to lower the tomb spell long enough for you to get in there and grab the moonstone from Katherine." Bonnie started.

"How? It took both you and your Grams last time and look what happened." Jeremy said.

"I'm aware of what happened. I've learned a few things." Bonnie said definitely.

"How will you get in?" She turned to Stefan so she wouldn't have to face Jeremy.

"She hasn't been feeding. She's weaker, we're not." Stefan said while Damon held up a glass of blood which Cassandra snatched out of his hand. The least he could do was share his blood since he was rummaging through her lingerie draw. She downed the entire glass before handing it back to Damon who then scowled at her.

"Sounds like a plan." Cassandra said after licking her lips. "So, when do I finally get to stake this bitch?"

"Let me do it. I've got my ring. I can get in, get the moonstone and get out." Jeremy interceded and everyone looked at him as if he were insane.

"Gee, thanks sixteen year old child. Why didn't we think of that? Why are you even here?" Damon said impatiently.

"What Jer, you don't trust me after I put my life on the line for your sister?" Cassandra said snidely, getting in Jeremy's face. She didn't get why this kid had such a vendetta towards her. Jeremy just stared her down.

"Maybe I can think of a better then plan. Do you have anything that belongs to Katherine?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan rifled through his room and found a spare necklace of Katherine's. Bonnie did a spell on it and turned it to ash. The entire time Bonnie performed the spell, Cassandra was in absolute awe.

"What's the matter?" She asked the vampire.

"Nothing. I've always loved watching spells. I think it's so fascinating. I have a high respect for witches."

"I can't say the same about Damon." Stefan joked.

"Oh, ha ha! Stefan made a funny!" Damon said sarcastically.

* * *

All of them, including Jeremy, made their way to the tomb. Bonnie started the spell when Cassandra's phone rang, "Rose?" She answered.

 _"Don't be angry with me."_  Rose said sweetly.

"That depends. What happened?"

_"You need to get to Richmond right now. I'll fill you in when you get here."_

"Dammit, Rose! I can't leave you alone for twenty minutes!" She snapped the phone closed. "I gotta go. Duty calls." She announced to the group.

"Woah? What happened?" Damon asked.

"It's Rose. Something's up." She replied.

"I'll come with you."

"Damon, let me handle this. I'm a big girl." She joked and bolted up the tomb stairs and to her car. Jumping in, she screeched out the Salvatore's driveway and called Rose back. "You better start kissing my ass for the rest of eternity. I'm coming alone. Damon's letting me handle this."

 _"I'll start as soon as you get here. Elena used one of Slater's contacts to summon Klaus."_ Rose hushed.

Cassandra nearly slammed on the breaks, "WHAT? Is she insane? I'll kill her!"

_"You might have to take a number. Don't tell anyone what's going down. This is just me and you."_

"Done." Cassandra hung up the phone and floored it to Richmond.

* * *

Elijah sat waiting in Jonas's apartment for him to do a tracking spell on Elena. Jonas had collected some items from the teenager's room earlier this morning.

"Give me your hand." The warlock instructed and Elijah held out his hand. Jonas sliced it with a knife and instructed him to place his bloodied hand on a photo of Elena. "Now close your eyes and focus on her." Elijah did as he was told.

* * *

Cassandra knocked frantically on the door of Slater's apartment. She could just snap Elena's neck for her stupid plan.

Rose opened the door, "Hey that was fast. Thanks for coming."

"You can thank me later when we get out of here alive." Cassandra still stood in the hallway. "Uhm, I need to be invited in." Cassandra pointed out. Rose frowned and stepped aside showing Slater's body with a stake through his heart on the floor. "Oh, shit." Cassandra said and quietly walked over the threshold. "With all due respect Rose, the guy was an asshole to me." She stepped over Slater's body but stopped, her nose catching a familiar scent.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked but Cassandra didn't answer as she moved further into the apartment.

"Was anyone else in here?"

"I don't think so. Why? You smell someone?" Rose asked, trying to zero in on what Cassandra was up to.

"Elijah." Cassandra muttered but Rose didn't catch it. This is the second time she's felt Elijah's presence. How could he be alive? Damon staked him! Elena turned, hearing two sets of heels making their way across the hardwood floor, and her jaw nearly hit the floor seeing that Cassandra had come.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked in disbelief.

"I could ask you the same thing!" The vampire snapped.

"I'm getting Klaus's attention." Elena spoke.

"God, Elena I know you don't want anyone to get hurt, but putting yourself in the cross fire doesn't make it any better!"

* * *

Elijah focused hard on Elena and before he knew it he was staring into Slater's apartment. Rose and Cassandra were there as well. Elena and his childe were in some kind of argument judging by the looks of anger on both their faces. His eyes snapped open and he found himself back in Jonas's apartment.

"You saw her?" Jonas asked.

"Yes. I know exactly where she is."

* * *

Rose was busy taking care of Alice, Slater's girlfriend, while Cassandra and Elena sat in the dining room. Their argument had died down but Elena would much rather have Cassandra here than Damon. After a few moments of silence, Elena spoke up.

"You don't understand why I have to do this." She muttered.

"Yes I do." Cassandra said quietly, not taking her attention off of her ring as she twirled around in her fingers. "Because if I was in your position, I would be doing the same thing." She added and Elena just stared at her. Cassandra cleared her throat and continued, "When I discovered Elijah, he was feeding on my father's property. He threatened to kill my family and I couldn't let him do that."

_Cassandra had been walking in the woods just off her father's property. It was nightfall and her parents informed her of the dangers of the night but Cassandra loved the outdoors too much. She'd sneak out some nights just to clear her mind and listen to the sounds of the night._

_A rustle from the trees above brought her out of her deep thinking. She looked further out into the dark forest and saw two figures in the distance. She was just off her family's property and this was normally the point where her walk would end. She knew she had to turn back, however the two figures in the distance caught her attention. One was clearly a man she could tell from his strong shoulders and the other was a woman, judging from the billows of her dress. Cassandra slowly drew closer to not alert the two of her presence. As she got closer she saw the man was holding the woman tightly and his mouth was nuzzled in the crook of the woman's neck. She heard strange sucking and slurping sounds and the woman quietly groaned in pain. Stepping even closer now, a twig snapped under her foot and she froze. The man look up at her and Cassandra saw blood on his chin and a bite mark on the woman's neck._

_A vampire._

_Cassandra had never seen one this close before. She heard the stories and tales that parents would tell their children to frighten them, but seeing one now was beyond surreal. This vampire didn't look too friendly considering someone interrupted his meal._ _Looking at him even closer, Cassandra could disprove the stories she had heard about vampires. He was beautiful. He was a tall man with brown hair just brushing over his eyes. The blood dripping from his mouth shimmered in the moonlight. His eyes were as dark as night with red surrounding them._

_He started to walk towards her at a slow pace, that smile still spread across his face. Cassandra turned on her heel, gripping her skirts in her hands to help her run as fast as possible. She didn't even look back; she just ran. Cassandra saw her house in the distance and that gave her great relief. She was almost there - just a little bit further. Cassandra pushed herself to run faster and she looked over her shoulder, thankful that the vampire wasn't in sight._

_Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back into a strong chest. Cassandra opened her mouth to scream, but her captor covered her mouth with his free hand to halt her cries._

_"Shh, I will not hurt you. Just keep quiet." He commanded and Cassandra stilled at the harsh tone in his voice. What did he want if he didn't want to hurt her? He turned her around to face him with a hand still clamped over her mouth while the other held a tight grip on her wrist to make sure she would stay put. Cassandra looked down at the floor; she didn't want to catch his gaze since the stories told her that vampire's liked to play with the human mind if they were given the chance. "Cassandra," he called lightly and her eyes met his dilating ones. "Do not scream." He compelled before removing his hands from her mouth and although she wanted to scream, her mind was hazy and numb._

_"Please, let me go." She whimpered._

_"I shall, but you have caught me feeding. You could expose me and I cannot have that." He said._

_"I won't tell anyone." She swore._

_"I know that you hold your family close to your heart and I would hate to have to kill them if anyone in town found out about me."_

_"No! Please, don't hurt them! I swear, no one will ever know about you." Cassandra begged, she hated begging, but if it was to keep her family safe then she would kiss the vampire's feet. All she wanted was to go home and forget tonight. "You have my word." She said as a final plea and the vampire looked convinced. He softly gripped her chin in his free hand and her eyes flicked up to look into his. They gave a feeling of comfort, as if she was talking with an old friend and not a deadly creature of the night. His dark eyes didn't dilate as they did before; he figured she would keep her word._

_"You are free to go, but remember what I've told you. I am a man of my word." His words sent little shivers down her spine and he released her. Cassandra ran and she never looked back._

"What did you do?" Elena asked.

"I didn't tell anyone, not even Stefan or Damon, and especially not my parents." Cassandra replied.

"But why did he let you go in the first place? Any other vampire would have killed you."

Cassandra nodded hearing Elena's words. True, if it was someone else, she wouldn't be sitting across from Elena telling her story, "I don't know, Elena. I don't think I will ever know, but he didn't forget about me, that's for sure."

_The weeks had passed and Cassandra had stayed true to her word. No one knew about her meeting with the vampire in the woods. Sometimes she wondered if that night was a dream since she hadn't seen or heard from the vampire. She was busy in her room getting ready for dinner while her maid tightened the strings on her corset. She loved to hate her corset. It gave her body a beautiful shape but the damn things were uncomfortable._

_"Ouch," She said under her breath as her face twisted in discomfort._

_"Sorry, Miss." Her maid said quickly as she continued to pull at the strings._

_"It's alright, Louise. Would you happen to know who is joining us for dinner tonight?" She had heard her father speaking of a dinner guest, but he didn't give her any clues as to who it was._

_"I couldn't tell you, Miss Emerson. Perhaps a handsome business partner?" Louise joked, knotting up ribbons on her corset. Cassandra thought of Louise as a friend rather than a maid. She would tell Louise her secrets, her fears, and her dreams. "Ah, but you have eyes for Giuseppe's son, Damon." She pinched Cassandra's cheeks and she giggled. Louise had been taking care of Cassandra since she was a little baby, so naturally she thought of Cassandra as another one of her children._

_"I do. He is just so handsome and such a gentleman." Cassandra smiled as she sat herself in front of her vanity mirror and Louise started to pin up the girl's curls._

_"And he is very easy on the eyes." Louise winked. "I see Miss Pierce has eyes for Stefan."_

_"Yes, she does. Although, I think Stefan is smitten with her." Cassandra chuckled lightly._

_"Well, I think you are more smitten with Damon. You have been walking on a cloud ever since the day he kissed you."_

_Cassandra gasped, turning her body on an angle to speak with Louise directly, "Louise! You didn't tell my parents, did you?"_

_"Calm down, child!" Louise chided and placed a finger underneath her chin. "Remember what I told you? Whatever we speak about in private is between you and me." She said and Cassandra nodded, smiling before turning around and facing the mirror. "Besides, I think your parents like him almost as much as you do." Louise pinned up Cassandra's curls in an elegant up-do as the two of them continued to talk about nonsense things. She led Cassandra out of her room and to the staircase where they heard light chatter by the front door. Cassandra's eyes snapped to the front door and froze at the man who was standing inside her home. It was the man from the woods. It was the vampire._

_"Cassandra, dear. Come meet our guest." Her mother smiled warmly and Cassandra didn't want to leave her perch on the staircase. She looked over her shoulder, but Louise shooed her down the steps. Her grip on the handrail was so tight that she thought that she would bend the wood. The man's eyes never left her form as she shakily made her way down the stairs._

_"Miss Emerson, I'm Elijah." He kissed her hand deeply, flashing her a friendly smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."_

_Dinner was uneventful as Cassandra pushed some food around on her plate. Elijah sat across from her, his eyes catching hers every so often. He charmed her mother and impressed her father as he conversed with them. Cassandra, on the other hand, wasn't taken with his handsome looks and charm. Elijah was still a vampire, a ruthless bloodthirsty vampire. While her father and Elijah spoke of business, Cassandra took the opportunity to slip a knife up the sleeve of her dress. Cassandra then placed a hand on her forehead, feigning ill. She kindly excused herself from the table, announcing that she had a headache and would feel better if she laid down for a little while. She bid her parents and Elijah goodnight and as soon as she out of sight, she bolted upstairs to her room._

_She locked the door behind her, taking the knife out of her sleeve and gripping it tightly. Her knuckles turned white and her palms were clammy and damp. Cassandra's mind raced with the possibilities for getting help. If she was to get out of her house fast enough, she could run to the sheriff's office and return with help. She ran to her window, throwing the curtains open and unlatching the window latch. Looking down, she could judge that it was a long way down but she could probably make it. Cassandra stepped onto the window ledge, prepared to jump, but a noise made her freeze. She slowly turned just as a bottle from her vanity table rolled to the edge and dropped to the floor with a clink. Cassandra moved away from the window, her senses on high alert as her eyes darted wildly around the room. Her breathing was shallow and her heartbeat was ringing in her ears. The window suddenly slammed closed with a loud bang and Cassandra whipped herself around, but no one was there. Hot tears stung her eyes as she waited for her tormentor to just finish her off._

_Elijah flashed from the shadows, grabbing Cassandra from behind and she swiftly thrust the knife into his stomach. He let her go, doubling over from the force of the blow. She moved as far away from him as she possibly could and she watched him struggle with the utensil in his stomach. Elijah grunted, gripping the knife by the hilt and yanking it from his body. Cassandra could see the blood shining off the blade and the wound healed right before her eyes. Elijah placed the knife neatly on her end table before blurring before her and gripping her shoulders. Cassandra was so petrified that she couldn't even scream._

_"It will take more than a knife to kill me, Cassandra." He growled menacingly._

_"Please, I have kept my word. Leave my family alone!" She whispered harshly._

_"Oh, I intend to. You have been very good at keeping our little secret."_

_"It will go with me to the grave. I swear it!" She replied quickly._

_"I have no doubt of that, but I would like some sort of payment for keeping my word." Elijah said slyly._

_"That depends on what you want." She narrowed her eyes and Elijah chuckled at her bravery. She was different from any human he had met before. Sure, she was scared, but she still managed to stand her ground. Elijah released one of her shoulders and traced his fingers down the column of her neck. She flinched, but Elijah was still very gentle with her. He felt the blood pumping under his fingertips as it rushed through her veins. Cassandra shuddered, knowing that he could strike at any moment. Elijah smirked before leaning in closer, his lips brushing her ear._

_"I want your blood." He whispered._

"That was our deal. I would give him some of my blood for my family's safety." Cassandra finished and Elena just sat in silence.

"I'm sorry. It looks like we're not so different after all." She said finally with a little shrug of her shoulders.

Cassandra smiled at her, "I guess not. I respect what you're doing but I have to take you back." Elena went to protest but Damon burst through the door.

"So much for handling it!" He growled.

"You told him?" Elena shouted to Rose who had just happened to show herself.

"I'm sorry Elena. I can't let you summon Klaus." Rose stammered.

"Let's go. We're leaving." Damon said before grabbing both girls but three vampires coming through the door stopped them.

"We're here to meet the doppelganger." The main one stepped forward, Cody. He was one of Slater's contacts.

"Thank you for coming." Elena went to move forward to meet them but Cassandra gripped her arm.

"Don't you dare." She seethed, but before anyone could do anything else, the vampire standing in the doorway collapsed on the floor. Elijah was now standing in the doorway, a menacing look in his already dark eyes. Cassandra tightened her grip on Elena's arm and Rose blurred out of the room.

"I killed you. I thought you were dead." Damon said in a snarky tone. So, Cassandra wasn't seeing things; it really had been Elijah at the coffee shop.

"For centuries now." Elijah said coolly before turning to Cody, "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Cody asked rudely.

"I'm Elijah." He replied and Cody seemed to immediately turn pale just hearing the Originals name.

"We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelganger. I don't know how she exists but she does. Klaus would want to see her." He managed to get out.

"Does anyone else know you're here?" Elijah asked still keeping his eyes on Cody.

"No." He answered.

"Then you've been incredibly helpful." Elijah finished before reaching in both of the men's' chests and ripping out their hearts. Elena gasped and moved back further behind Damon and Cassandra. Elijah tossed the hearts to the floor and held his hands out as if he was asking for either Cassandra or Damon to step forward and fight him. Damon's body crouched slightly, showing that his wasn't backing down and Elijah just smirked.

Elijah blurred forward to Damon but Cassandra met him halfway. She moved to strike him, but he caught her hand. She tried to rustle from his grip but he held her hand tightly. He leaned into her, pushing closer to her body and staring her down. Damon and Elena just stood there completely frozen. This has been the second time Cassandra challenged Elijah and the last time she barely made it out alive. Elijah's eyes roamed down her body and back up again as if he was examining a specimen under a microscope. His eyes met hers before unhanding her and flashing out of the room. Cassandra let out a breath she forgot she'd been holding in and let her eyes travel around the room. Damon surveyed the apartment before turning his eyes back to Cassandra.

"He's gone." She said quietly.

* * *

Elijah had made his way back to Jonas's house after his run in with Cassandra. She was an infuriating girl. How dare she challenge him once again! He knew her actions weren't one sided, Elijah had gone to attack Damon with every intention of killing him, but she stopped him. After all that time she would still protect Damon and Elijah knew if the situation were reversed, he'd die for her.

"Your shadow spell was successful. I was able to track the girl; however I did have a run in with Damon and Cassandra." He spoke to Jonas.

"I assume Damon didn't make it out alive? He was the one that killed you." Jonas replied.

"No, actually, Miss Emerson got in my way and she still lives to tell the tale. The both of them would die for each other, it's pathetic." Elijah said coldly.

"And Elena?" Jonas inquired.

"She will be safe for now." Elijah finished.

* * *

Damon, Cassandra and Elena walked up to the Gilbert residence, all of them were high strung that Elijah was now around even though it was obvious that Damon had killed him. They all couldn't help but wonder why Elijah had spared Cassandra after she had stood up to him, not once, but twice.

"Thanks for taking me home." Elena said.

"It was the least we could do." Damon shrugged.

"Yeah, Rose always tends to run. She'll be back." Cassandra added. The door opened and Jeremy was there with bloodied gauze around his neck.

"Elena, its Stefan." He said weakly and Elena bolted off the porch, running to the tomb.

"Go after her! I'll take care of Jeremy." Cassandra yelled to Damon and he ran after Elena. Jeremy moved further in the house but Cassandra couldn't be let in. "Please Jeremy, let me in. I'll help you." Jeremy stood within the door frame and eyed the vampire pleading for an invitation into the house. "Jeremy, please!" She pleaded once more.

The teenager moved aside, "Come in."

Cassandra blurred in and ripped into her wrist holding it to his mouth but he pushed her back. "I'm here to help you, Jeremy. Please drink. My blood is really strong, it will heal you faster." Jeremy hesitated but he sucked the blood out of the bite. Cassandra looked under the gauze on his neck and watched the bites heal over quickly. Jeremy stopped feeding off her wrist and Cassandra then took a damp cloth, cleaning the blood off his neck. "What happened to you?" She asked as she was helping him.

"Katherine. I went to get the moonstone from her and she bit me. Stefan got me out and now he's stuck in here." He replied.

"Oh, great. That's just what everyone needs. Between you and your sister I don't know who's more stubborn." Cassandra scoffed.

"I'm doing this to help Elena. I don't want her being sacrificed." He said angrily

"I know, Jeremy. We will do everything we can to keep her safe. I promise." Cassandra vowed.

"Elena told me you took a beating from Elijah." Jeremy said quietly and Cassandra looked at him. Why had Elena told him? "He could have killed you."

"Thank you, Jer, for pointing out the obvious." She laughed.

"I wanna say thanks. For helping her. And I'm sorry for accusing you." He said honestly and gave him a small smile.

"No problem, Jer. Stefan asked me for help and I said I would help."

* * *

"I need a vacation." Damon exhaled as the two sat side by side on a couch at the boarding house. He downed a glass of bourbon and Cassandra did the same. Damon started to pour himself another glass and the brunette vampire held her glass out, silent plea to fill her glass too.

"Tell me about." Cassandra agreed. Elena had a fit with Damon that Stefan was now in the tomb with Katherine. Maybe Bonnie had a spell in her 'cookbook' to lift the tomb spell just to get Stefan out and leave Katherine a prisoner.

"Hey, why don't we just go somewhere?" Damon suggested.

"What? Damon, your brother is stuck in the tomb with Katherine. I don't think just taking off will be the answer."

"C'mon please, it would just be for a little while. Besides, I think we both need to get outta here." Damon pleaded.

"I don't know, Damon. I want to, but we can't just up and leave."

"Why not? Please, please, please, with a cherry on top." He leaned over, his eyes level with hers. Cassandra gave it a thought and Damon flashed a sexy pout. She chuckled, rolling her eyes, she just couldn't resist.

"Alright, but you have to do something for me." She added.

"Yes! Anything! Whatever you want!" Damon was just happy he got her to budge.

"I have to attend a formal ball in L.A. and I need an escort."

"Done! Pack your shit and let's go." Damon said and drummed his palms on her thighs.

"Wait! What about Elijah?" Cassandra interceded and with that Damon sunk lower into the couch. They couldn't have Elena around unprotected.

"Bonnie should be able to protect her. C'mon, I need this vacation!" Damon was grasping at straws. Cassandra knew that Bonnie was strong, but she didn't want to risk Elijah hurting her. A little light bulb went off in her head and she smiled widely.

"I think I know who will help me with that." Cassandra chimed in before blurring out of the house.

* * *

Cassandra knocked on Jonas's apartment when a young man answered the door, "Hey honey." She smiled.

"Cassandra? Get in here!" The young man invited her in and embraced her. The vampire stepped back and looked him over.

"Luka, you're getting even more and more handsome. Too bad that you're a little too young for me." She pouted.

Luka laughed, "I bet you say that to every guy you're with."

"Please honey, every guy I'm with I'm practically robbing the cradle." She joked and Jonas walked into the room to see the both of them. "Jonas. It's nice to see you again."

"Cassandra, I heard you had a run in with Elijah today." He greeted

"Yep and I am still living." She smirked. "I imagine he wasn't too happy with me."

"No, not really." He turned to his son, "Luka, have you gotten your dog tag back?"

"No, Dad. Bonnie still has it." Luka said sadly. Bonnie had used his necklace to channel energy to open the tomb, but Cassandra had already known that from talking with the witch earlier. Cassandra took this opportunity to reach in her pocket and reveal Luka's dog tag.

"I think I can help with that." She said swinging it back and forth. Luka went to grab it, but she pulled it back. "I need a favor." The vampire stated.

"Like hell you do!" Jonas said angrily.

"I need Elijah to stay away from Elena for a couple of days. If that is done, you will get this back. Do we have a deal?"

"Done!" Luka said quickly, he really needed that necklace back badly.

"Alright, a deal's a deal." Cassandra said happily, slipping the dog tag back in her pocket. "I'll be in touch." She chirped before stepping out of the apartment.

* * *

She returned to the boarding house to find Damon in his room throwing things in a suitcase.

"We are in the clear." She said excitedly and jumped on his bed.

"Thank God! I booked our flights; we are leaving in the morning." He replied, stuffing more clothes in his suitcase.

"How were you so sure that I'd pull through?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow at him.

"Because you always do." Damon smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. "So, what's the attire for this ball?"

"Black tie." She said and he nodded.

"Well I gotta start packing. See you in the morning." She chirped happily.


End file.
